Selective triggering of neural network functions for positioning of a user equipment

ABSTRACT

In an aspect, a UE obtains information (e.g., UE-specific information, etc.) associated with a set of triggering criteria for a set of neural network functions, the set of neural network functions configured to facilitate positioning measurement feature processing at the UE, the set of neural network functions being generated dynamically based on machine-learning associated with one or more historical measurement procedure, obtains positioning measurement data associated with a location of the UE, and determines a positioning estimate for the UE based at least in part upon the positioning measurement data and at least one neural network function from the set of neural network functions that is triggered by at least one triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Application for Patent claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/061,064, entitled “SELECTIVE TRIGGERINGOF NEURAL NETWORK FUNCTIONS FOR POSITIONING OF A USER EQUIPMENT,” filedAug. 4, 2020, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expresslyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communications,and more particularly to selective triggering of neural networkfunctions for positioning of a user equipment (UE).

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication systems have developed through variousgenerations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service(1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (includinginterim 2.5G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data,Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G) service(e.g., LTE or WiMax). There are presently many different types ofwireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personalcommunications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systemsinclude the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), anddigital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA),frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access(TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDMA,etc.

A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio(NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers ofconnections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5Gstandard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, isdesigned to provide data rates of several tens of megabits per second toeach of tens of thousands of users, with 1 gigabit per second to tens ofworkers on an office floor. Several hundreds of thousands ofsimultaneous connections should be supported in order to support largewireless sensor deployments. Consequently, the spectral efficiency of 5Gmobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to thecurrent 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiencies should beenhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to currentstandards.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or moreaspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not beconsidered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects,nor should the following summary be considered to identify key orcritical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineatethe scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, thefollowing summary has the sole purpose to present certain conceptsrelating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosedherein in a simplified form to precede the detailed descriptionpresented below.

In an aspect, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includesobtaining information associated with a set of triggering criteria for aset of neural network functions, the set of neural network functionsconfigured to facilitate positioning measurement feature processing atthe UE, the set of neural network functions being generated dynamicallybased on machine-learning associated with one or more historicalmeasurement procedures; obtaining positioning measurement dataassociated with a location of the UE; and determining a positioningestimate for the UE based at least in part upon the positioningmeasurement data and at least one neural network function from the setof neural network functions that is triggered by at least one triggeringcriterion from the set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is received at the UEfrom a serving network or an external server.

In some aspects, the method includes receiving a plurality of neuralnetwork functions from the set of neural network functions; andselecting the at least one neural network function from among theplurality of neural network functions based on the at least onetriggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the method includes receiving, from a networkcomponent, a query for current information associated with the UE;transmitting, to the network component in response to the query, theobtained information; and receiving, from the network component inresponse to the transmission of the obtained information, an indicationof the at least one neural network function based on the obtainedinformation satisfying the at least one triggering criterion.

In some aspects, the indication comprises the at least one neuralnetwork function or a reference to the at least one neural networkfunction.

In some aspects, the query is received at the UE responsive to a handoffof the UE, or the indication is received at the UE responsive to thehandoff of the UE, or a combination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of neural network functions is aggregated intoa single neural network function construct.

In some aspects, the obtained information is provided as a set of inputsinto the single neural network function construct, and the determiningcomprises execution of the single neural network function constructbased on the set of inputs.

In some aspects, the at least one neural network function comprises aUE-feature processing neural network function, at least one base station(BS)-feature processing neural network function, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the obtained information comprises one or more ofgeographic region characteristics of the UE, whether the UE is locatedin an indoor or outdoor environment, a serving base station or carriernetwork of the UE, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is associated with oneor more of geographic region characteristics, an indoor or outdoor UEstatus, a base station or carrier network, a UE category, a base stationcategory, or any combination thereof.

In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: obtain information associated with a set of triggeringcriteria for a set of neural network functions, the set of neuralnetwork functions configured to facilitate positioning measurementfeature processing at the UE, the set of neural network functions beinggenerated dynamically based on machine-learning associated with one ormore historical measurement procedures; obtain positioning measurementdata associated with a location of the UE; and determine a positioningestimate for the UE based at least in part upon the positioningmeasurement data and at least one neural network function from the setof neural network functions that is triggered by at least one triggeringcriterion from the set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is received at the UEfrom a serving network or an external server.

In some aspects, the at least one processor is further configured to:receive, via the at least one transceiver, a plurality of neural networkfunctions from the set of neural network functions; and select the atleast one neural network function from among the plurality of neuralnetwork functions based on the at least one triggering criterion fromthe set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the at least one processor is further configured to:receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a network component, aquery for current information associated with the UE; transmit, via theat least one transceiver, to the network component in response to thequery, the obtained information; and receive, via the at least onetransceiver, from the network component in response to the transmissionof the obtained information, an indication of the at least one neuralnetwork function based on the obtained information satisfying the atleast one triggering criterion.

In some aspects, the indication comprises the at least one neuralnetwork function or a reference to the at least one neural networkfunction.

In some aspects, the query is received at the UE responsive to a handoffof the UE, or the indication is received at the UE responsive to thehandoff of the UE, or a combination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of neural network functions is aggregated intoa single neural network function construct.

In some aspects, the obtained information is provided as a set of inputsinto the single neural network function construct, and the determiningcomprises execution of the single neural network function constructbased on the set of inputs.

In some aspects, the at least one neural network function comprises aUE-feature processing neural network function, at least one base station(BS)-feature processing neural network function, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the obtained information comprises one or more ofgeographic region characteristics of the UE, whether the UE is locatedin an indoor or outdoor environment, a serving base station or carriernetwork of the UE, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is associated with oneor more of geographic region characteristics, an indoor or outdoor UEstatus, a base station or carrier network, a UE category, a base stationcategory, or any combination thereof.

In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for obtaininginformation associated with a set of triggering criteria for a set ofneural network functions, the set of neural network functions configuredto facilitate positioning measurement feature processing at the UE, theset of neural network functions being generated dynamically based onmachine-learning associated with one or more historical measurementprocedures; means for obtaining positioning measurement data associatedwith a location of the UE; and means for determining a positioningestimate for the UE based at least in part upon the positioningmeasurement data and at least one neural network function from the setof neural network functions that is triggered by at least one triggeringcriterion from the set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is received at the UEfrom a serving network or an external server.

In some aspects, the method includes means for receiving a plurality ofneural network functions from the set of neural network functions; andmeans for selecting the at least one neural network function from amongthe plurality of neural network functions based on the at least onetriggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the method includes means for receiving, from a networkcomponent, a query for current information associated with the UE; meansfor transmitting, to the network component in response to the query, theobtained information; and means for receiving, from the networkcomponent in response to the transmission of the obtained information,an indication of the at least one neural network function based on theobtained information satisfying the at least one triggering criterion.

In some aspects, the indication comprises the at least one neuralnetwork function or a reference to the at least one neural networkfunction.

In some aspects, the query is received at the UE responsive to a handoffof the UE, or the indication is received at the UE responsive to thehandoff of the UE, or a combination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of neural network functions is aggregated intoa single neural network function construct.

In some aspects, the obtained information is provided as a set of inputsinto the single neural network function construct, and the determiningcomprises execution of the single neural network function constructbased on the set of inputs.

In some aspects, the at least one neural network function comprises aUE-feature processing neural network function, at least one base station(BS)-feature processing neural network function, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the obtained information comprises one or more ofgeographic region characteristics of the UE, whether the UE is locatedin an indoor or outdoor environment, a serving base station or carriernetwork of the UE, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is associated with oneor more of geographic region characteristics, an indoor or outdoor UEstatus, a base station or carrier network, a UE category, a base stationcategory, or any combination thereof

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment(UE), cause the UE to: obtain information associated with a set oftriggering criteria for a set of neural network functions, the set ofneural network functions configured to facilitate positioningmeasurement feature processing at the UE, the set of neural networkfunctions being generated dynamically based on machine-learningassociated with one or more historical measurement procedures; obtainpositioning measurement data associated with a location of the UE; anddetermine a positioning estimate for the UE based at least in part uponthe positioning measurement data and at least one neural networkfunction from the set of neural network functions that is triggered byat least one triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is received at the UEfrom a serving network or an external server.

In some aspects, the one or more instructions further cause the UE to:receive a plurality of neural network functions from the set of neuralnetwork functions; and select the at least one neural network functionfrom among the plurality of neural network functions based on the atleast one triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.

In some aspects, the one or more instructions further cause the UE to:receive, from a network component, a query for current informationassociated with the UE; transmit, to the network component in responseto the query, the obtained information; and receive, from the networkcomponent in response to the transmission of the obtained information,an indication of the at least one neural network function based on theobtained information satisfying the at least one triggering criterion.

In some aspects, the indication comprises the at least one neuralnetwork function or a reference to the at least one neural networkfunction.

In some aspects, the query is received at the UE responsive to a handoffof the UE, or the indication is received at the UE responsive to thehandoff of the UE, or a combination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of neural network functions is aggregated intoa single neural network function construct.

In some aspects, the obtained information is provided as a set of inputsinto the single neural network function construct, and the determiningcomprises execution of the single neural network function constructbased on the set of inputs.

In some aspects, the at least one neural network function comprises aUE-feature processing neural network function, at least one base station(BS)-feature processing neural network function, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the obtained information comprises one or more ofgeographic region characteristics of the UE, whether the UE is locatedin an indoor or outdoor environment, a serving base station or carriernetwork of the UE, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

In some aspects, the set of triggering criteria is associated with oneor more of geographic region characteristics, an indoor or outdoor UEstatus, a base station or carrier network, a UE category, a base stationcategory, or any combination thereof.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosedherein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on theaccompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description ofvarious aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely forillustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system,according to various aspects.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example wireless network structures,according to various aspects.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspectsof components that may be employed in wireless communication nodes andconfigured to support communication as taught herein.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating examples of frame structuresand channels within the frame structures, according to aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary PRS configuration for a cell supportedby a wireless node.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system accordingto various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system accordingto various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8A is a graph showing the RF channel response at a receiver overtime according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating this separation of clusters in AoD.

FIGS. 9-10 illustrate processes of wireless communication, according toaspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 11-13 illustrate example implementations of the processes of FIGS.9-10 in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates another exemplary process of wireless communication,according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example neural network, according to aspects ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description andrelated drawings directed to various examples provided for illustrationpurposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from thescope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of thedisclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as notto obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

The words “exemplary” and/or “example” are used herein to mean “servingas an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described hereinas “exemplary” and/or “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term“aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of thedisclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode ofoperation.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information andsignals described below may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the description below may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending inpart on the particular application, in part on the desired design, inpart on the corresponding technology, etc.

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions tobe performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will berecognized that various actions described herein can be performed byspecific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or moreprocessors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s)of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirelywithin any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that,upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of adevice to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the variousaspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of differentforms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of theclaimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects describedherein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be describedherein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the describedaction.

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” arenot intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radioaccess technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may beany wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tabletcomputer, laptop computer, tracking device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch,glasses, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.),vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet ofThings (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wirelesscommunications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certaintimes) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio access network(RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeablyas an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,”a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,”a “user terminal” or UT, a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” orvariations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core networkvia a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected withexternal networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course,other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and/or the Internetare also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks,wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11,etc.) and so on.

A base station may operate according to one of several RATs incommunication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed,and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a networknode, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (alsoreferred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. In addition, in some systems abase station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while inother systems it may provide additional control and/or networkmanagement functions. In some systems, a base station may correspond toa Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) or a road-side unit (RSU). In somedesigns, a base station may correspond to a high-powered UE (e.g., avehicle UE or VUE) that may provide limited certain infrastructurefunctionality. A communication link through which UEs can send signalsto a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reversetraffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). Acommunication link through which the base station can send signals toUEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a pagingchannel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward trafficchannel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can referto either an UL/reverse or DL/forward traffic channel.

The term “base station” may refer to a single physicaltransmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that mayor may not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station”refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna ofthe base station corresponding to a cell of the base station. Where theterm “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, thephysical TRPs may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in a multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employsbeamforming) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refersto multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be adistributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separatedantennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or aremote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a servingbase station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may bethe serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UEand a neighbor base station whose reference RF signals the UE ismeasuring. Because a TRP is the point from which a base stationtransmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references totransmission from or reception at a base station are to be understood asreferring to a particular TRP of the base station.

An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequencythat transports information through the space between a transmitter anda receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RFsignal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, the receivermay receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RFsignal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals throughmultipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different pathsbetween the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath”RF signal.

According to various aspects, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wirelesscommunications system 100. The wireless communications system 100 (whichmay also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) mayinclude various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular basestations) and/or small cell base stations (low power cellular basestations). In an aspect, the macro cell base station may include eNBswhere the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an LTEnetwork, or gNBs where the wireless communications system 100corresponds to a NR network, or a combination of both, and the smallcell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with acore network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or next generationcore (NGC)) through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170to one or more location servers 172. In addition to other functions, thebase stations 102 may perform functions that relate to one or more oftransferring user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering,integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions(e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interferencecoordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distributionfor non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection,synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service(MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management(RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The basestations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly(e.g., through the EPC/NGC) over backhaul links 134, which may be wiredor wireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Eachof the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for arespective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cellsmay be supported by a base station 102 in each coverage area 110. A“cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with abase station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to as acarrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, or the like), andmay be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier(PCI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI)) for distinguishing cellsoperating via the same or a different carrier frequency. In some cases,different cells may be configured according to different protocol types(e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT),enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access fordifferent types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific basestation, the term “cell” may refer to either or both the logicalcommunication entity and the base station that supports it, depending onthe context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to ageographic coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), insofar asa carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication withinsome portion of geographic coverage areas 110.

While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of thegeographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by alarger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell basestation 102′ may have a coverage area 110′ that substantially overlapswith the coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102.A network that includes both small cell and macro cell base stations maybe known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may alsoinclude home eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restrictedgroup known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs104 may include UL (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions froma UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to asforward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. Thecommunication links 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, includingspatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. Thecommunication links 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies.Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL(e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL).

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication withWLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and/or the WLAN AP 150 may performa clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedureprior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel isavailable.

The small cell base station 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or anunlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequencyspectrum, the small cell base station 102′ may employ LTE or NRtechnology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as usedby the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102′, employing LTE/5Gin an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/orincrease capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum maybe referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred toas LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a millimeterwave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW frequencies and/ornear mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely highfrequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHFhas a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeterand 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as amillimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with awavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) bandextends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave.Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band have highpath loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and theUE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over a mmWcommunication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path lossand short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternativeconfigurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit usingmmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciatedthat the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not beconstrued to limit the various aspects disclosed herein.

Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in aspecific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a basestation) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in alldirections (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the networknode determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located(relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a strongerdownlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing afaster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receivingdevice(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal whentransmitting, a network node can control the phase and relativeamplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters thatare broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use anarray of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antennaarray”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to pointin different directions, without actually moving the antennas.Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to theindividual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that theradio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase theradiation in a desired direction, while canceling to suppress radiationin undesired directions.

Transmit beams may be quasi-collocated, meaning that they appear to thereceiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless ofwhether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselvesare physically collocated. In NR, there are four types ofquasi-collocation (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of agiven type means that certain parameters about a second reference RFsignal on a second beam can be derived from information about a sourcereference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RFsignal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RFsignal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, anddelay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift andDoppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift andaverage delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receiveparameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel.

In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RFsignals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver canincrease the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array ofantennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase thegain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when areceiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beamgain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along otherdirections, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest comparedto the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams availableto the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength(e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) ofthe RF signals received from that direction.

Receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relation means thatparameters for a transmit beam for a second reference signal can bederived from information about a receive beam for a first referencesignal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive areference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block(SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam forsending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal(SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receivebeam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base stationis forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, thedownlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlinkbeam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink referencesignal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or areceive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a basestation is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and ifa UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., basestations 102/180, UEs 104/182) operate is divided into multiplefrequency ranges, FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In amulti-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies isreferred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primaryserving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies arereferred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or“SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrieroperating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104/182and the cell in which the UE 104/182 either performs the initial radioresource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiatesthe RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carriercarries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be acarrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case).A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g.,FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is establishedbetween the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used toprovide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carriermay be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier maycontain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example,those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier,since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typicallyUE-specific. This means that different UEs 104/182 in a cell may havedifferent downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplinkprimary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier ofany UE 104/182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance theload on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell oran SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency/component carrier overwhich some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “servingcell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can beused interchangeably.

For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilizedby the macro cell base stations 102 may be an anchor carrier (or“PCell”) and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations102 and/or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers(“SCells”). The simultaneous transmission and/or reception of multiplecarriers enables the UE 104/182 to significantly increase its datatransmission and/or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregatedcarriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to atwo-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz), compared to that attainedby a single 20 MHz carrier.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include one or moreUEs, such as UE 190, that connects indirectly to one or morecommunication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D)peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In the example of FIG. 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2Plink 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations102 (e.g., through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellularconnectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to theWLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-basedInternet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 maybe supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D),WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164 thatmay communicate with a macro cell base station 102 over a communicationlink 120 and/or the mmW base station 180 over a mmW communication link184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCelland one or more SCells for the UE 164 and the mmW base station 180 maysupport one or more SCells for the UE 164.

According to various aspects, FIG. 2A illustrates an example wirelessnetwork structure 200. For example, an NGC 210 (also referred to as a“5GC”) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions 214 (e.g.,UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection,etc.) and user plane functions 212, (e.g., UE gateway function, accessto data networks, IP routing, etc.) which operate cooperatively to formthe core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control planeinterface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the NGC 210 and specificallyto the control plane functions 214 and user plane functions 212. In anadditional configuration, an eNB 224 may also be connected to the NGC210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to userplane functions 212. Further, eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the New RAN220 may only have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurationsinclude one or more of both eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either gNB 222 or eNB224 may communicate with UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs depicted in FIG.1). Another optional aspect may include location server 230, which maybe in communication with the NGC 210 to provide location assistance forUEs 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality ofseparate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different softwaremodules on a single server, different software modules spread acrossmultiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond toa single server. The location server 230 can be configured to supportone or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to thelocation server 230 via the core network, NGC 210, and/or via theInternet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may beintegrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may beexternal to the core network.

According to various aspects, FIG. 2B illustrates another examplewireless network structure 250. For example, an NGC 260 (also referredto as a “5GC”) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions,provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF)/user planefunction (UPF) 264, and user plane functions, provided by a sessionmanagement function (SMF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form thecore network (i.e., NGC 260). User plane interface 263 and control planeinterface 265 connect the eNB 224 to the NGC 260 and specifically to SMF262 and AMF/UPF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, a gNB222 may also be connected to the NGC 260 via control plane interface 265to AMF/UPF 264 and user plane interface 263 to SMF 262. Further, eNB 224may directly communicate with gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223,with or without gNB direct connectivity to the NGC 260. In someconfigurations, the New RAN 220 may only have one or more gNBs 222,while other configurations include one or more of both eNBs 224 and gNBs222. Either gNB 222 or eNB 224 may communicate with UEs 204 (e.g., anyof the UEs depicted in FIG. 1). The base stations of the New RAN 220communicate with the AMF-side of the AMF/UPF 264 over the N2 interfaceand the UPF-side of the AMF/UPF 264 over the N3 interface.

The functions of the AMF include registration management, connectionmanagement, reachability management, mobility management, lawfulinterception, transport for session management (SM) messages between theUE 204 and the SMF 262, transparent proxy services for routing SMmessages, access authentication and access authorization, transport forshort message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the shortmessage service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchorfunctionality (SEAF). The AMF also interacts with the authenticationserver function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives theintermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 204authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS(universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module(USIM), the AMF retrieves the security material from the AUSF. Thefunctions of the AMF also include security context management (SCM). TheSCM receives a key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-networkspecific keys. The functionality of the AMF also includes locationservices management for regulatory services, transport for locationservices messages between the UE 204 and the location managementfunction (LMF) 270, as well as between the New RAN 220 and the LMF 270,evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier allocation forinterworking with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Inaddition, the AMF also supports functionalities for non-3GPP accessnetworks.

Functions of the UPF include acting as an anchor point forintra-/inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an externalprotocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to the datanetwork (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packetinspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating,redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user planecollection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handlingfor the user plane (e.g., UL/DL rate enforcement, reflective QoS markingin the DL), UL traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flowmapping), transport level packet marking in the UL and DL, DL packetbuffering and DL data notification triggering, and sending andforwarding of one or more “end markers” to the source RAN node.

The functions of the SMF 262 include session management, UE Internetprotocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and controlof user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF toroute traffic to the proper destination, control of part of policyenforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface overwhich the SMF 262 communicates with the AMF-side of the AMF/UPF 264 isreferred to as the N11 interface.

Another optional aspect may include a LMF 270, which may be incommunication with the NGC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers(e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on asingle server, different software modules spread across multiplephysical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a singleserver. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more locationservices for UEs 204 that can connect to the L1VIF 270 via the corenetwork, NGC 260, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated).

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several sample components (representedby corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (whichmay correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304(which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), anda network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of thenetwork functions described herein, including the location server 230and the LMF 270) to support the file transmission operations as taughtherein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implementedin different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., inan ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated componentsmay also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communicationsystem. For example, other apparatuses in a system may includecomponents similar to those described to provide similar functionality.Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. Forexample, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components thatenable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicatevia different technologies.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN) transceiver 310 and 350, respectively, configured tocommunicate via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown),such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, and/or the like.The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or moreantennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other networknodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs,gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.)over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., some set oftime/frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWANtransceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured for transmittingand encoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications,information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receivingand decoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications,information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with thedesignated RAT. Specifically, the transceivers 310 and 350 include oneor more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting andencoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and358, respectively.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 also include, at least in somecases, wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and 360,respectively. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to oneor more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, for communicating with othernetwork nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.,via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, etc.)over a wireless communication medium of interest. The WLAN transceivers320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmitting and encodingsignals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and soon), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and soon), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically,the transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368,respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, forreceiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively.

Transceiver circuitry including a transmitter and a receiver maycomprise an integrated device (e.g., embodied as a transmitter circuitand a receiver circuit of a single communication device) in someimplementations, may comprise a separate transmitter device and aseparate receiver device in some implementations, or may be embodied inother ways in other implementations. In an aspect, a transmitter mayinclude or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316,336, and 376), such as an antenna array, that permits the respectiveapparatus to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein.Similarly, a receiver may include or be coupled to a plurality ofantennas (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376), such as an antenna array,that permits the respective apparatus to perform receive beamforming, asdescribed herein. In an aspect, the transmitter and receiver may sharethe same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376), suchthat the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a giventime, not both at the same time. A wireless communication device (e.g.,one or both of the transceivers 310 and 320 and/or 350 and 360) of theapparatuses 302 and/or 304 may also comprise a network listen module(NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

The apparatuses 302 and 304 also include, at least in some cases,satellite positioning systems (SPS) receivers 330 and 370. The SPSreceivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and376, respectively, for receiving SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively,such as global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigationsatellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals,Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-ZenithSatellite System (QZSS), etc. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may compriseany suitable hardware and/or software for receiving and processing SPSsignals 338 and 378, respectively. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 requestinformation and operations as appropriate from the other systems, andperforms calculations necessary to determine the apparatus' 302 and 304positions using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithm.

The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include at leastone network interfaces 380 and 390 for communicating with other networkentities. For example, the network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one ormore network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one ormore network entities via a wire-based or wireless backhaul connection.In some aspects, the network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implementedas transceivers configured to support wire-based or wireless signalcommunication. This communication may involve, for example, sending andreceiving: messages, parameters, or other types of information.

The apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 also include other components that maybe used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE302 includes processor circuitry implementing a processing system 332for providing functionality relating to, for example, false base station(FBS) detection as disclosed herein and for providing other processingfunctionality. The base station 304 includes a processing system 384 forproviding functionality relating to, for example, FBS detection asdisclosed herein and for providing other processing functionality. Thenetwork entity 306 includes a processing system 394 for providingfunctionality relating to, for example, FBS detection as disclosedherein and for providing other processing functionality. In an aspect,the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, oneor more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs,digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA),or other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry.

The apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 include memory circuitry implementingmemory components 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memorydevice), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., informationindicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on). Insome cases, the apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 may include measurementmodules 342 and 388, respectively. The measurement modules 342 and 388may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processingsystems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause theapparatuses 302, 304, and 306 to perform the functionality describedherein. Alternatively, the measurement modules 342 and 388 may be memorymodules (as shown in FIGS. 3A-C) stored in the memory components 340,386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by the processingsystems 332, 384, and 394, cause the apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 toperform the functionality described herein.

The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processingsystem 332 to provide movement and/or orientation information that isindependent of motion data derived from signals received by the WWANtransceiver 310, the WLAN transceiver 320, and/or the GPS receiver 330.By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g.,a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, ageomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometricpressure altimeter), and/or any other type of movement detection sensor.Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include a plurality of different typesof devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motioninformation. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of amulti-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the abilityto compute positions in 2D and/or 3D coordinate systems.

In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 for providingindications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to a user and/orfor receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing devicesuch a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on). Although notshown, the apparatuses 304 and 306 may also include user interfaces.

Referring to the processing system 384 in more detail, in the downlink,IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processingsystem 384. The processing system 384 may implement functionality for anRRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio linkcontrol (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. Theprocessing system 384 may provide RRC layer functionality associatedwith broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block(MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g.,RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connectionmodification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, andmeasurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layerfunctionality associated with header compression/decompression, security(ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification),and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated withthe transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC servicedata units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering ofRLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mappingbetween logical channels and transport channels, scheduling informationreporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channelprioritization.

The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement Layer-1functionality associated with various signal processing functions.Layer-1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include errordetection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC)coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching,mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physicalchannels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handlesmapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes(e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying(QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation(M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split intoparallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with areference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, andthen combined together using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) toproduce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream.The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatialstreams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used todetermine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatialprocessing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signaland/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Eachspatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a respectivespatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respectiveantenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 332.The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Layer-1 functionalityassociated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatialstreams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams aredestined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into asingle OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDMsymbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fastFourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises aseparate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Thesymbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered anddemodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation pointstransmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be basedon channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisionsare then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and controlsignals that were originally transmitted by the base station 304 on thephysical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to theprocessing system 332, which implements Layer-3 and Layer-2functionality.

In the UL, the processing system 332 provides demultiplexing betweentransport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, headerdecompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets fromthe core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible forerror detection.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DLtransmission by the base station 304, the processing system 332 providesRRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB,SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCPlayer functionality associated with header compression/decompression,and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrityverification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer ofupper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation,segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC dataPDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionalityassociated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels,multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing ofMAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correctionthrough HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used bythe transmitter 314 to select the appropriate coding and modulationschemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streamsgenerated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s)316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a respectivespatial stream for transmission.

The UL transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the receiver function atthe UE 302. The receiver 352 receives a signal through its respectiveantenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 384.

In the UL, the processing system 384 provides demultiplexing betweentransport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, headerdecompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from theUE 302. IP packets from the processing system 384 may be provided to thecore network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for errordetection.

For convenience, the apparatuses 302, 304, and/or 306 are shown in FIGS.3A-C as including various components that may be configured according tothe various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however,that the illustrated blocks may have different functionality indifferent designs.

The various components of the apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 maycommunicate with each other over data buses 334, 382, and 392,respectively. The components of FIGS. 3A-C may be implemented in variousways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A-C may beimplemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or moreprocessors and/or one or more ASICs (which may include one or moreprocessors). Here, each circuit may use and/or incorporate at least onememory component for storing information or executable code used by thecircuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of thefunctionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented byprocessor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution ofappropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processorcomponents). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented byblocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by processor and memorycomponent(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriatecode and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also,some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 396 may beimplemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriateconfiguration of processor components). For simplicity, variousoperations, acts, and/or functions are described herein as beingperformed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a positioning entity,”etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and/orfunctions may actually be performed by specific components orcombinations of components of the UE, base station, positioning entity,etc., such as the processing systems 332, 384, 394, the transceivers310, 320, 350, and 360, the memory components 340, 386, and 396, themeasurement modules 342 and 388, etc.

FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a DL framestructure, according to aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 4B is a diagram430 illustrating an example of channels within the DL frame structure,according to aspects of the disclosure. Other wireless communicationstechnologies may have a different frame structures and/or differentchannels.

LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink andsingle-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink.Unlike LTE, however, NR has an option to use OFDM on the uplink as well.OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K)orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones,bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general,modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in thetime domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may befixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on thesystem bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15kHz and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal FFT size may beequal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5,5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth mayalso be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz,respectively.

LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing, symbol length,etc.). In contrast NR may support multiple numerologies, for example,subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz and 204 kHz orgreater may be available. Table 1 provided below lists some variousparameters for different NR numerologies.

TABLE 1 Max. nominal Subcarrier Symbol system BW spacing Symbols/ slots/slots/ duration (MHz) with (kHz) slot subframe frame slot (ms) (μs) 4KFFT size 15 14 1 10 1 66.7 50 30 14 2 20 0.5 33.3 100 60 14 4 40 0.2516.7 100 120 14 8 80 0.125 8.33 400 240 14 16 160 0.0625 4.17 800

In the examples of FIGS. 4A and 4B, a numerology of 15 kHz is used.Thus, in the time domain, a frame (e.g., 10 ms) is divided into 10equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, and each subframe includes onetime slot. In FIGS. 4A and 4B, time is represented horizontally (e.g.,on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequencyis represented vertically (e.g., on the Y axis) with frequencyincreasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slotincluding one or more time concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (alsoreferred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. Theresource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs).An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and onesubcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIGS. 4A and4B, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutivesubcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols (for DL,OFDM symbols; for UL, SC-FDMA symbols) in the time domain, for a totalof 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutivesymbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bitscarried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, some of the REs carry DL reference (pilot)signals (DL-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The DL-RS may includedemodulation reference signals (DMRS) and channel state informationreference signals (CSI-RS), exemplary locations of which are labeled “R”in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of various channels within a DL subframeof a frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DLcontrol information (DCI) within one or more control channel elements(CCEs), each CCE including nine RE groups (REGs), each REG includingfour consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The DCI carries informationabout UL resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) anddescriptions about DL data transmitted to the UE. Multiple (e.g., up to8) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs can have one ofmultiple formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for ULscheduling, for non-MIMO DL scheduling, for MIMO DL scheduling, and forUL power control.

A primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by a UE to determinesubframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondarysynchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physicallayer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on thephysical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity groupnumber, the UE can determine a PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE candetermine the locations of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH), which carries an MIB, may be logically groupedwith the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also referred to as an SS/PBCH).The MIB provides a number of RBs in the DL system bandwidth and a systemframe number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carriesuser data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCHsuch as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

In some cases, the DL RS illustrated in FIG. 4A may be positioningreference signals (PRS). FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary PRSconfiguration 500 for a cell supported by a wireless node (such as abase station 102). FIG. 5 shows how PRS positioning occasions aredetermined by a system frame number (SFN), a cell specific subframeoffset (Δ_(PRS)) 552, and the PRS periodicity (T_(PRS)) 520. Typically,the cell specific PRS subframe configuration is defined by a “PRSConfiguration Index” I_(PRS) included in observed time difference ofarrival (OTDOA) assistance data. The PRS periodicity (T_(PRS)) 520 andthe cell specific subframe offset (Δ_(PRS)) are defined based on the PRSconfiguration index I_(PRS), as illustrated in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 PRS configuration PRS periodicity T_(PRS) PRS subframe offsetIndex I_(PRS) (subframes) Δ_(PRS) (subframes)  0-159 160 I_(PRS) 160-479320 I_(PRS)-160   480-1119 640 I_(PRS)-480  1120-2399 1280 I_(PRS)-11202400-2404 5 I_(PRS)-2400 2405-2414 10 I_(PRS)-2405 2415-2434 20I_(PRS)-2415 2435-2474 40 I_(PRS)-2435 2475-2554 80 I_(PRS)-24752555-4095 Reserved

A PRS configuration is defined with reference to the SFN of a cell thattransmits PRS. PRS instances, for the first subframe of the N_(PRS)downlink subframes comprising a first PRS positioning occasion, maysatisfy:

(10×n _(f) +└n _(s)/2┘−Δ_(PRS))mod T _(PRS)=0,

where n_(f) is the SFN with 0≤n_(f)≤1023, n_(s) is the slot numberwithin the radio frame defined by n_(f) with 0≤n_(s)≤19, T_(PRS) is thePRS periodicity 520, and Δ_(PRS) is the cell-specific subframe offset552.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cell specific subframe offset Δ_(PRS) 552 may bedefined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting fromsystem frame number 0 (Slot ‘Number 0’, marked as slot 550) to the startof the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion. In the example inFIG. 5, the number of consecutive positioning subframes (N_(PRS)) ineach of the consecutive PRS positioning occasions 518 a, 518 b, and 518c equals 4. That is, each shaded block representing PRS positioningoccasions 518 a, 518 b, and 518 c represents four subframes.

In some aspects, when a UE receives a PRS configuration index I_(PRS) inthe OTDOA assistance data for a particular cell, the UE may determinethe PRS periodicity T_(PRS) 520 and PRS subframe offset Δ_(PRS) usingTable 2. The UE may then determine the radio frame, subframe, and slotwhen a PRS is scheduled in the cell (e.g., using equation (1)). TheOTDOA assistance data may be determined by, for example, the locationserver (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270), and includes assistancedata for a reference cell, and a number of neighbor cells supported byvarious base stations.

Typically, PRS occasions from all cells in a network that use the samefrequency are aligned in time and may have a fixed known time offset(e.g., cell-specific subframe offset 552) relative to other cells in thenetwork that use a different frequency. In SFN-synchronous networks, allwireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102) may be aligned on both frameboundary and system frame number. Therefore, in SFN-synchronousnetworks, all cells supported by the various wireless nodes may use thesame PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRStransmission. On the other hand, in SFN-asynchronous networks, thevarious wireless nodes may be aligned on a frame boundary, but notsystem frame number. Thus, in SFN-asynchronous networks the PRSconfiguration index for each cell may be configured separately by thenetwork so that PRS occasions align in time.

A UE may determine the timing of the PRS occasions of the reference andneighbor cells for OTDOA positioning, if the UE can obtain the celltiming (e.g., SFN) of at least one of the cells, e.g., the referencecell or a serving cell. The timing of the other cells may then bederived by the UE based, for example, on the assumption that PRSoccasions from different cells overlap.

A collection of resource elements that are used for transmission of PRSis referred to as a “PRS resource.” The collection of resource elementscan span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., 1 or more)consecutive symbol(s) 460 within a slot 430 in the time domain. In agiven OFDM symbol 460, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. A PRSresource is described by at least the following parameters: PRS resourceidentifier (ID), sequence ID, comb size-N, resource element offset inthe frequency domain, starting slot and starting symbol, number ofsymbols per PRS resource (i.e., the duration of the PRS resource), andQCL information (e.g., QCL with other DL reference signals). In somedesigns, one antenna port is supported. The comb size indicates thenumber of subcarriers in each symbol carrying PRS. For example, acomb-size of comb-4 means that every fourth subcarrier of a given symbolcarries PRS.

A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmissionof PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Inaddition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated withthe same transmission-reception point (TRP). A PRS resource ID in a PRSresource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a singleTRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRSresource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam,and as such, a “PRS resource” can also be referred to as a “beam.” Notethat this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and thebeams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE. A “PRS occasion”is one instance of a periodically repeated time window (e.g., a group ofone or more consecutive slots) where PRS are expected to be transmitted.A PRS occasion may also be referred to as a “PRS positioning occasion,”a “positioning occasion,” or simply an “occasion.”

Note that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” maysometimes refer to specific reference signals that are used forpositioning in LTE or NR systems. However, as used herein, unlessotherwise indicated, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS”refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning,such as but not limited to, PRS signals in LTE or NR, navigationreference signals (NRSs) in 5G, transmitter reference signals (TRSs),cell-specific reference signals (CRSs), channel state informationreference signals (CSI-RSs), primary synchronization signals (PSSs),secondary synchronization signals (SSSs), SSB, etc.

An SRS is an uplink-only signal that a UE transmits to help the basestation obtain the channel state information (CSI) for each user.Channel state information describes how an RF signal propagates from theUE to the base station and represents the combined effect of scattering,fading, and power decay with distance. The system uses the SRS forresource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management,etc.

Several enhancements over the previous definition of SRS have beenproposed for SRS for positioning (SRS-P), such as a new staggeredpattern within an SRS resource, a new comb type for SRS, new sequencesfor SRS, a higher number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, anda higher number of SRS resources per component carrier. In addition, theparameters “SpatialRelationInfo” and “PathLossReference” are to beconfigured based on a DL RS from a neighboring TRP. Further still, oneSRS resource may be transmitted outside the active bandwidth part (BWP),and one SRS resource may span across multiple component carriers.Lastly, the UE may transmit through the same transmit beam from multipleSRS resources for UL-AoA. All of these are features that are additionalto the current SRS framework, which is configured through RRC higherlayer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through MACcontrol element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI)).

As noted above, SRSs in NR are UE-specifically configured referencesignals transmitted by the UE used for the purposes of the sounding theuplink radio channel. Similar to CSI-RS, such sounding provides variouslevels of knowledge of the radio channel characteristics. On oneextreme, the SRS can be used at the gNB simply to obtain signal strengthmeasurements, e.g., for the purposes of UL beam management. On the otherextreme, SRS can be used at the gNB to obtain detailed amplitude andphase estimates as a function of frequency, time and space. In NR,channel sounding with SRS supports a more diverse set of use casescompared to LTE (e.g., downlink CSI acquisition for reciprocity-basedgNB transmit beamforming (downlink MIMO); uplink CSI acquisition forlink adaptation and codebook/non-codebook based precoding for uplinkMIMO, uplink beam management, etc.).

The SRS can be configured using various options. The time/frequencymapping of an SRS resource is defined by the following characteristics.

-   -   Time duration N_(symb) ^(SRS)—The time duration of an SRS        resource can be 1, 2, or 4 consecutive OFDM symbols within a        slot, in contrast to LTE which allows only a single OFDM symbol        per slot.    -   Starting symbol location l₀—The starting symbol of an SRS        resource can be located anywhere within the last 6 OFDM symbols        of a slot provided the resource does not cross the end-of-slot        boundary.    -   Repetition factor R—For an SRS resource configured with        frequency hopping, repetition allows the same set of subcarriers        to be sounded in R consecutive OFDM symbols before the next hop        occurs (as used herein, a “hop” refers to specifically to a        frequency hop). For example, values of R are 1, 2, 4 where        R≤N_(symb) ^(SRS).    -   Transmission comb spacing K_(TC) and comb offset k_(TC)—An SRS        resource may occupy resource elements (REs) of a frequency        domain comb structure, where the comb spacing is either 2 or 4        REs like in LTE. Such a structure allows frequency domain        multiplexing of different SRS resources of the same or different        users on different combs, where the different combs are offset        from each other by an integer number of REs. The comb offset is        defined with respect to a PRB boundary, and can take values in        the range 0,1, . . . , K_(TC)−1 REs. Thus, for comb spacing        K_(TC)=2, there are 2 different combs available for multiplexing        if needed, and for comb spacing K_(TC)=4, there are 4 different        available combs.    -   Periodicity and slot offset for the case of        periodic/semi-persistent SRS.    -   Sounding bandwidth within a bandwidth part.

For low latency positioning, a gNB may trigger a UL SRS-P via a DCI(e.g., transmitted SRS-P may include repetition or beam-sweeping toenable several gNBs to receive the SRS-P). Alternatively, the gNB maysend information regarding aperiodic PRS transmission to the UE (e.g.,this configuration may include information about PRS from multiple gNBsto enable the UE to perform timing computations for positioning(UE-based) or for reporting (UE-assisted). While various aspects of thepresent disclosure relate to DL PRS-based positioning procedures, someor all of such aspects may also apply to UL SRS-P-based positioningprocedures.

Note that the terms “sounding reference signal”, “SRS” and “SRS-P” maysometimes refer to specific reference signals that are used forpositioning in LTE or NR systems. However, as used herein, unlessotherwise indicated, the terms “sounding reference signal”, “SRS” and“SRS-P” refer to any type of reference signal that can be used forpositioning, such as but not limited to, SRS signals in LTE or NR,navigation reference signals (NRSs) in 5G, transmitter reference signals(TRSs), random access channel (RACH) signals for positioning (e.g., RACHpreambles, such as Msg-1 in 4-Step RACH procedure or Msg-A in 2-StepRACH procedure), etc.

3GPP Rel. 16 introduced various NR positioning aspects directed toincrease location accuracy of positioning schemes that involvemeasurement(s) associated with one or more UL or DL PRSs (e.g., higherbandwidth (BW), FR2 beam-sweeping, angle-based measurements such asAngle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) measurements,multi-cell Round-Trip Time (RTT) measurements, etc.). If latencyreduction is a priority, then UE-based positioning techniques (e.g.,DL-only techniques without UL location measurement reporting) aretypically used. However, if latency is less of a concern, thenUE-assisted positioning techniques can be used, whereby UE-measured datais reported to a network entity (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270,etc.). Latency associated UE-assisted positioning techniques can bereduced somewhat by implementing the LMF in the RAN.

Layer-3 (L3) signaling (e.g., RRC or Location Positioning Protocol(LPP)) is typically used to transport reports that compriselocation-based data in association with UE-assisted positioningtechniques. L3 signaling is associated with relatively high latency(e.g., above 100 ms) compared with Layer-1 (L1, or PHY layer) signalingor Layer-2 (L2, or MAC layer) signaling. In some cases, lower latency(e.g., less than 100 ms, less than 10 ms, etc.) between the UE and theRAN for location-based reporting may be desired. In such cases, L3signaling may not be capable of reaching these lower latency levels. L3signaling of positioning measurements may comprise any combination ofthe following:

-   -   One or multiple TOA, TDOA, RSRP or Rx-Tx measurements,    -   One or multiple AoA/AoD (e.g., currently agreed only for gNB→LMF        reporting DL AoA and UL AoD) measurements,    -   One or multiple Multipath reporting measurements, e.g., per-path        ToA, RSRP, AoA/AoD (e.g., currently only per-path ToA allowed in        LTE)    -   One or multiple motion states (e.g., walking, driving, etc.) and        trajectories (e.g., currently for UE), and/or    -   One or multiple report quality indications.

More recently, L1 and L2 signaling has been contemplated for use inassociation with PRS-based reporting. For example, L1 and L2 signalingis currently used in some systems to transport CSI reports (e.g.,reporting of Channel Quality Indications (CQIs), Precoding MatrixIndicators (PMIs), Layer Indicators (Lis), L1-RSRP, etc.). CSI reportsmay comprise a set of fields in a pre-defined order (e.g., defined bythe relevant standard). A single UL transmission (e.g., on PUSCH orPUCCH) may include multiple reports, referred to herein as‘sub-reports’, which are arranged according to a pre-defined priority(e.g., defined by the relevant standard). In some designs, thepre-defined order may be based on an associated sub-report periodicity(e.g., aperiodic/semi-persistent/periodic (A/SP/P) over PUSCH/PUCCH),measurement type (e.g., L1-RSRP or not), serving cell index (e.g., incarrier aggregation (CA) case), and reportconfigID. With 2-part CSIreporting, the part 1s of all reports are grouped together, and the part2s are grouped separately, and each group is separately encoded (e.g.,part 1 payload size is fixed based on configuration parameters, whilepart 2 size is variable and depends on configuration parameters and alsoon associated part 1 content). A number of coded bits/symbols to beoutput after encoding and rate-matching is computed based on a number ofinput bits and beta factors, per the relevant standard. Linkages (e.g.,time offsets) are defined between instances of RSs being measured andcorresponding reporting. In some designs, CSI-like reporting ofPRS-based measurement data using L1 and L2 signaling may be implemented.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system 600according to various aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG.6, a UE 604, which may correspond to any of the UEs described above withrespect to FIG. 1 (e.g., UEs 104, UE 182, UE 190, etc.), is attemptingto calculate an estimate of its position, or assist another entity(e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a locationserver, a third party application, etc.) to calculate an estimate of itsposition. The UE 604 may communicate wirelessly with a plurality of basestations 602 a-d (collectively, base stations 602), which may correspondto any combination of base stations 102 or 180 and/or WLAN AP 150 inFIG. 1, using RF signals and standardized protocols for the modulationof the RF signals and the exchange of information packets. By extractingdifferent types of information from the exchanged RF signals, andutilizing the layout of the wireless communications system 600 (i.e.,the base stations locations, geometry, etc.), the UE 604 may determineits position, or assist in the determination of its position, in apredefined reference coordinate system. In an aspect, the UE 604 mayspecify its position using a two-dimensional coordinate system; however,the aspects disclosed herein are not so limited, and may also beapplicable to determining positions using a three-dimensional coordinatesystem, if the extra dimension is desired. Additionally, while FIG. 6illustrates one UE 604 and four base stations 602, as will beappreciated, there may be more UEs 604 and more or fewer base stations602.

To support position estimates, the base stations 602 may be configuredto broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., Positioning Reference Signals(PRS), Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS), Channel State InformationReference Signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals, etc.) to UEs 604 intheir coverage areas to enable a UE 604 to measure reference RF signaltiming differences (e.g., OTDOA or RSTD) between pairs of network nodesand/or to identify the beam that best excite the LOS or shortest radiopath between the UE 604 and the transmitting base stations 602.Identifying the LOS/shortest path beam(s) is of interest not onlybecause these beams can subsequently be used for OTDOA measurementsbetween a pair of base stations 602, but also because identifying thesebeams can directly provide some positioning information based on thebeam direction. Moreover, these beams can subsequently be used for otherposition estimation methods that require precise ToA, such as round-triptime estimation based methods.

As used herein, a “network node” may be a base station 602, a cell of abase station 602, a remote radio head, an antenna of a base station 602,where the locations of the antennas of a base station 602 are distinctfrom the location of the base station 602 itself, or any other networkentity capable of transmitting reference signals. Further, as usedherein, a “node” may refer to either a network node or a UE.

A location server (e.g., location server 230) may send assistance datato the UE 604 that includes an identification of one or more neighborcells of base stations 602 and configuration information for referenceRF signals transmitted by each neighbor cell. Alternatively, theassistance data can originate directly from the base stations 602themselves (e.g., in periodically broadcasted overhead messages, etc.).Alternatively, the UE 604 can detect neighbor cells of base stations 602itself without the use of assistance data. The UE 604 (e.g., based inpart on the assistance data, if provided) can measure and (optionally)report the OTDOA from individual network nodes and/or RSTDs betweenreference RF signals received from pairs of network nodes. Using thesemeasurements and the known locations of the measured network nodes(i.e., the base station(s) 602 or antenna(s) that transmitted thereference RF signals that the UE 604 measured), the UE 604 or thelocation server can determine the distance between the UE 604 and themeasured network nodes and thereby calculate the location of the UE 604.

The term “position estimate” is used herein to refer to an estimate of aposition for a UE 604, which may be geographic (e.g., may comprise alatitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or civic (e.g., may comprisea street address, building designation, or precise point or area withinor nearby to a building or street address, such as a particular entranceto a building, a particular room or suite in a building, or a landmarksuch as a town square). A position estimate may also be referred to as a“location,” a “position,” a “fix,” a “position fix,” a “location fix,” a“location estimate,” a “fix estimate,” or by some other term. The meansof obtaining a location estimate may be referred to generically as“positioning,” “locating,” or “position fixing.” A particular solutionfor obtaining a position estimate may be referred to as a “positionsolution.” A particular method for obtaining a position estimate as partof a position solution may be referred to as a “position method” or as a“positioning method.”

The term “base station” may refer to a single physical transmissionpoint or to multiple physical transmission points that may or may not beco-located. For example, where the term “base station” refers to asingle physical transmission point, the physical transmission point maybe an antenna of the base station (e.g., base station 602) correspondingto a cell of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers tomultiple co-located physical transmission points, the physicaltransmission points may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in a MIMOsystem or where the base station employs beamforming) of the basestation. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-locatedphysical transmission points, the physical transmission points may be aDistributed Antenna System (DAS) (a network of spatially separatedantennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or aRemote Radio Head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a servingbase station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical transmissionpoints may be the serving base station receiving the measurement reportfrom the UE (e.g., UE 604) and a neighbor base station whose referenceRF signals the UE is measuring. Thus, FIG. 6 illustrates an aspect inwhich base stations 602 a and 602 b form a DAS/RRH 620. For example, thebase station 602 a may be the serving base station of the UE 604 and thebase station 602 b may be a neighbor base station of the UE 604. Assuch, the base station 602 b may be the RRH of the base station 602 a.The base stations 602 a and 602 b may communicate with each other over awired or wireless link 622.

To accurately determine the position of the UE 604 using the OTDOAsand/or RSTDs between RF signals received from pairs of network nodes,the UE 604 needs to measure the reference RF signals received over theLOS path (or the shortest NLOS path where an LOS path is not available),between the UE 604 and a network node (e.g., base station 602, antenna).However, RF signals travel not only by the LOS/shortest path between thetransmitter and receiver, but also over a number of other paths as theRF signals spread out from the transmitter and reflect off other objectssuch as hills, buildings, water, and the like on their way to thereceiver. Thus, FIG. 6 illustrates a number of LOS paths 610 and anumber of NLOS paths 612 between the base stations 602 and the UE 604.Specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates base station 602 a transmitting over anLOS path 610 a and an NLOS path 612 a, base station 602 b transmittingover an LOS path 610 b and two NLOS paths 612 b, base station 602 ctransmitting over an LOS path 610 c and an NLOS path 612 c, and basestation 602 d transmitting over two NLOS paths 612 d. As illustrated inFIG. 6, each NLOS path 612 reflects off some object 630 (e.g., abuilding). As will be appreciated, each LOS path 610 and NLOS path 612transmitted by a base station 602 may be transmitted by differentantennas of the base station 602 (e.g., as in a MIMO system), or may betransmitted by the same antenna of a base station 602 (therebyillustrating the propagation of an RF signal). Further, as used herein,the term “LOS path” refers to the shortest path between a transmitterand receiver, and may not be an actual LOS path, but rather, theshortest NLOS path.

In an aspect, one or more of base stations 602 may be configured to usebeamforming to transmit RF signals. In that case, some of the availablebeams may focus the transmitted RF signal along the LOS paths 610 (e.g.,the beams produce highest antenna gain along the LOS paths) while otheravailable beams may focus the transmitted RF signal along the NLOS paths612. A beam that has high gain along a certain path and thus focuses theRF signal along that path may still have some RF signal propagatingalong other paths; the strength of that RF signal naturally depends onthe beam gain along those other paths. An “RF signal” comprises anelectromagnetic wave that transports information through the spacebetween the transmitter and the receiver. As used herein, a transmittermay transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to areceiver. However, as described further below, the receiver may receivemultiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due tothe propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipathchannels.

Where a base station 602 uses beamforming to transmit RF signals, thebeams of interest for data communication between the base station 602and the UE 604 will be the beams carrying RF signals that arrive at UE604 with the highest signal strength (as indicated by, e.g., theReceived Signal Received Power (RSRP) or SINR in the presence of adirectional interfering signal), whereas the beams of interest forposition estimation will be the beams carrying RF signals that excitethe shortest path or LOS path (e.g., an LOS path 610). In some frequencybands and for antenna systems typically used, these will be the samebeams. However, in other frequency bands, such as mmW, where typically alarge number of antenna elements can be used to create narrow transmitbeams, they may not be the same beams. As described below with referenceto FIG. 7, in some cases, the signal strength of RF signals on the LOSpath 610 may be weaker (e.g., due to obstructions) than the signalstrength of RF signals on an NLOS path 612, over which the RF signalsarrive later due to propagation delay.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system 700according to various aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG.7, a UE 704, which may correspond to UE 604 in FIG. 6, is attempting tocalculate an estimate of its position, or to assist another entity(e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a locationserver, a third party application, etc.) to calculate an estimate of itsposition. The UE 704 may communicate wirelessly with a base station 702,which may correspond to one of base stations 602 in FIG. 6, using RFsignals and standardized protocols for the modulation of the RF signalsand the exchange of information packets.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the base station 702 is utilizing beamformingto transmit a plurality of beams 711-715 of RF signals. Each beam711-715 may be formed and transmitted by an array of antennas of thebase station 702. Although FIG. 7 illustrates a base station 702transmitting five beams 711-715, as will be appreciated, there may bemore or fewer than five beams, beam shapes such as peak gain, width, andside-lobe gains may differ amongst the transmitted beams, and some ofthe beams may be transmitted by a different base station.

A beam index may be assigned to each of the plurality of beams 711-715for purposes of distinguishing RF signals associated with one beam fromRF signals associated with another beam. Moreover, the RF signalsassociated with a particular beam of the plurality of beams 711-715 maycarry a beam index indicator. A beam index may also be derived from thetime of transmission, e.g., frame, slot and/or OFDM symbol number, ofthe RF signal. The beam index indicator may be, for example, a three-bitfield for uniquely distinguishing up to eight beams. If two different RFsignals having different beam indices are received, this would indicatethat the RF signals were transmitted using different beams. If twodifferent RF signals share a common beam index, this would indicate thatthe different RF signals are transmitted using the same beam. Anotherway to describe that two RF signals are transmitted using the same beamis to say that the antenna port(s) used for the transmission of thefirst RF signal are spatially quasi-collocated with the antenna port(s)used for the transmission of the second RF signal.

In the example of FIG. 7, the UE 704 receives an NLOS data stream 723 ofRF signals transmitted on beam 713 and an LOS data stream 724 of RFsignals transmitted on beam 714. Although FIG. 7 illustrates the NLOSdata stream 723 and the LOS data stream 724 as single lines (dashed andsolid, respectively), as will be appreciated, the NLOS data stream 723and the LOS data stream 724 may each comprise multiple rays (i.e., a“cluster”) by the time they reach the UE 704 due, for example, to thepropagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels.For example, a cluster of RF signals is formed when an electromagneticwave is reflected off of multiple surfaces of an object, and reflectionsarrive at the receiver (e.g., UE 704) from roughly the same angle, eachtraveling a few wavelengths (e.g., centimeters) more or less thanothers. A “cluster” of received RF signals generally corresponds to asingle transmitted RF signal.

In the example of FIG. 7, the NLOS data stream 723 is not originallydirected at the UE 704, although, as will be appreciated, it could be,as are the RF signals on the NLOS paths 612 in FIG. 6. However, it isreflected off a reflector 740 (e.g., a building) and reaches the UE 704without obstruction, and therefore, may still be a relatively strong RFsignal. In contrast, the LOS data stream 724 is directed at the UE 704but passes through an obstruction 730 (e.g., vegetation, a building, ahill, a disruptive environment such as clouds or smoke, etc.), which maysignificantly degrade the RF signal. As will be appreciated, althoughthe LOS data stream 724 is weaker than the NLOS data stream 723, the LOSdata stream 724 will arrive at the UE 704 before the NLOS data stream723 because it follows a shorter path from the base station 702 to theUE 704.

As noted above, the beam of interest for data communication between abase station (e.g., base station 702) and a UE (e.g., UE 704) is thebeam carrying RF signals that arrives at the UE with the highest signalstrength (e.g., highest RSRP or SINR), whereas the beam of interest forposition estimation is the beam carrying RF signals that excite the LOSpath and that has the highest gain along the LOS path amongst all otherbeams (e.g., beam 714). That is, even if beam 713 (the NLOS beam) wereto weakly excite the LOS path (due to the propagation characteristics ofRF signals, even though not being focused along the LOS path), that weaksignal, if any, of the LOS path of beam 713 may not be as reliablydetectable (compared to that from beam 714), thus leading to greatererror in performing a positioning measurement.

While the beam of interest for data communication and the beam ofinterest for position estimation may be the same beams for somefrequency bands, for other frequency bands, such as mmW, they may not bethe same beams. As such, referring to FIG. 7, where the UE 704 isengaged in a data communication session with the base station 702 (e.g.,where the base station 702 is the serving base station for the UE 704)and not simply attempting to measure reference RF signals transmitted bythe base station 702, the beam of interest for the data communicationsession may be the beam 713, as it is carrying the unobstructed NLOSdata stream 723. The beam of interest for position estimation, however,would be the beam 714, as it carries the strongest LOS data stream 724,despite being obstructed.

FIG. 8A is a graph 800A showing the RF channel response at a receiver(e.g., UE 704) over time according to aspects of the disclosure. Underthe channel illustrated in FIG. 8A, the receiver receives a firstcluster of two RF signals on channel taps at time T1, a second clusterof five RF signals on channel taps at time T2, a third cluster of fiveRF signals on channel taps at time T3, and a fourth cluster of four RFsignals on channel taps at time T4. In the example of FIG. 8A, becausethe first cluster of RF signals at time T1 arrives first, it is presumedto be the LOS data stream (i.e., the data stream arriving over the LOSor the shortest path), and may correspond to the LOS data stream 724.The third cluster at time T3 is comprised of the strongest RF signals,and may correspond to the NLOS data stream 723. Seen from thetransmitter's side, each cluster of received RF signals may comprise theportion of an RF signal transmitted at a different angle, and thus eachcluster may be said to have a different angle of departure (AoD) fromthe transmitter. FIG. 8B is a diagram 800B illustrating this separationof clusters in AoD. The RF signal transmitted in AoD range 802 a maycorrespond to one cluster (e.g., “Cluster1”) in FIG. 8A, and the RFsignal transmitted in AoD range 802 b may correspond to a differentcluster (e.g., “Cluster3”) in FIG. 8A. Note that although AoD ranges ofthe two clusters depicted in FIG. 8B are spatially isolated, AoD rangesof some clusters may also partially overlap even though the clusters areseparated in time. For example, this may arise when two separatebuildings at same AoD from the transmitter reflect the signal towardsthe receiver. Note that although FIG. 8A illustrates clusters of two tofive channel taps (or “peaks”), as will be appreciated, the clusters mayhave more or fewer than the illustrated number of channel taps.

As described above, for positioning in cellular systems the gNBtypically transmits a reference signal (e.g., PRS) and the UE isconfigured to measure and report certain pre-defined metrics such asreference-signal-received-power (RSRP), time-of-arrival (TOA),round-trip-time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD). Toenable UE-based positioning, the gNB typically transmits additionalinformation such as gNB locations (also known as the Base StationAlmanac or BSA). The UE then maps the measurements to an estimate of theUE position using a model based on physics and statistical techniques.This approach depends on the ability to mathematically model themeasurement reliably.

Various parameter may impact the accuracy of the mapping from ameasurement to the UE's position likelihood, some of which may not beeasy to obtain or model mathematically in a reliable manner:

-   -   Parameters neutral in terms of UE or gNB, such as a        physics-based model (e.g., round-trip time has circular        contours),    -   gNB-specific parameters, such as gNB properties (e.g., location,        downtilt, transmit power), gN B-side implementation issues        (e.g., gNB time sync errors, clock drift, antenna-to-baseband        delay or hardware group delay), BSA error (e.g., certain eNB        locations are wrong or inaccurate), etc.    -   UE-specific parameters (e.g., clock drift, antenna-to-baseband        delay or hardware group delay, device type such as a vehicle or        phone, or a particular brand of vehicle or phone, chipset type,        etc.).

Hence, mathematical modeling for mapping of positioning measurements toa positioning estimate for a UE can be difficult. Moreover, someinformation needed for such mathematical modeling may be unavailable(e.g., BSA, gNB time sync error, etc.).

One or more aspects of the present disclosure are thereby directed toapplying neural network function(s) that are generated dynamically basedon machine learning (ML) based on historical measurement procedures tonew positioning measurement data. In some designs, the neural networkfunction(s) can be fine-tuned (or optimized) based on ML with respect tovarious operational conditions, as will be described below in moredetail. In some designs, such aspects may facilitate various technicaladvantages, such as more accurate UE positioning estimates, quicker UEpositioning estimates (e.g., which may result in power savings at theUE), and so on.

Below, reference is made to positioning measurement “features”. As usedherein, a positioning measurement “feature” is a processed (e.g.,compressed) representation of raw positioning measurement data. In somedesigns, processing (e.g., or refining or compressing) of rawpositioning measurement data into respective positioning measurementfeature(s) may be implemented for various reasons, such as reducing theamount of positioning measurement data to be transported over a physicalchannel between the UE and the gNB. Examples of positioning measurementfeatures comprise a time-of-arrival (e.g., TOA TDOA, OTDOA, etc.),reference signal time-difference, angle of departure (AoD), angle ofarrival (AoA), timing and magnitude of a pre-defined number of peaks inthe channel estimate, other channel estimate information such as a powerdelay profile (PDP), etc.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary process 900 of wireless communication,according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, the process 900may be performed by a UE, such as UE 302 of FIG. 3A.

At 910, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, etc.) obtains at leastone neural network function configured to derive a likelihood of atleast one set of positioning measurement features being present at acandidate set of positioning estimates for the UE. To put another way,assuming values for certain positioning measurement features (e.g.,which may be measured at various locations), the neural networkfunction(s) will indicate the likelihood of those particular assumedvalues at the various candidate locations (or positioning estimates). Insome designs, the at least one neural network function being generateddynamically based on machine-learning associated with one or morehistorical measurement procedures. In some designs, the at least oneneural network function may be received from a network entity (e.g., BS304 via RRC signaling). In some designs, the at least one neural networkfunction may be generated by a network entity (e.g., network entity 306,such as an LMF) or an external server, and then relayed to UE 302 via aserving BS. For example, the one or more historical measurementprocedures may be filtered based on one or more criteria (e.g.,location, gNB, carrier, etc.) and input as training data into amachine-learning algorithm which outputs a series of offsets, algorithmsand/or processing rules referred to herein as a “neural networkfunction”, which can be used to derive a likelihood of a particularpositioning measurement feature being present at a particular candidatelocation (or region). In some designs, the one or more historicalmeasurement procedures can be associated with different UEs (e.g.,crowd-sourcing), and UE model type or operational conditions can also beused to filter the training data being fed to the machine-learningalgorithm that generates the neural network function(s).

At 920, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, receiver 336, sensors344, measurement module 342, etc.) obtains positioning measurement dataassociated with a location of the UE. For example, the positioningmeasurement data may comprise wireless wide area network (WWAN)positioning measurement data, WLAN positioning measurement data, GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning measurement data, sensormeasurement data, etc. In some designs, the positioning measurement datamay be obtained by performing a set of positioning measurements on areference signal for positioning (e.g., PRS, etc.). In some designs, thepositioning measurement data may be received from a gNB (e.g., based onSRS-P measurements, etc.). In terms of sensor measurement data, in somedesigns, the positioning measurement data may comprise sensor datacaptured by one or more sensors, such as sensors 344 (e.g., visual dataor image data captured by a camera of UE 302, in which landmarks may beidentified in association with a particular location, etc.). In somedesigns, the positioning measurement data may include channel estimateinformation, such as a PDP (e.g., measured on one antenna or beam oracross multiple antennas or beams, in case of multiple antennas or beamsthe different PDPs can be used to jointly estimate a time and anglemeasurement such as AoA measurement or AoD measurement).

At 930, UE 302 (e.g., processing system 332, measurement module 342,etc.) determines a positioning estimate (e.g., a WWAN position estimate,a WLAN position estimate, a GNSS position estimate, a sensor-basedposition estimate, etc.) for the UE based at least in part upon thepositioning measurement data and the at least one neural networkfunction. In some designs, at 930, UE 302 may directly feed a channelestimate into the neural network function(s) as an input. In otherdesigns, UE 302 may first extract some features such as time-of-arrival,reference signal time-difference, angle of departure, timing andmagnitude of a pre-defined number of peaks in the channel estimate, etc.and feeds such features to the neural network function(s). In somedesigns, the neural network function(s) may output a likelihood ofparticular feature(s) being present at particular candidate location(s),in which case a post-processing function of combining the likelihood(s)across all measurements (or features) can be computed into a combinedlikelihood function, as discussed below in more detail with respect toFIGS. 11-13. For example, if the neural network function(s) indicatethat the positioning measurement data is 99.9% likely to be present at agiven candidate location and less than 1% chance to be present at anyother candidate location, then the given candidate location may bedetermined as the positioning estimate (e.g., or at least, the givencandidate location may be weighted more favorably as the positioningestimate in a positioning algorithm).

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary process 1000 of wireless communication,according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, the process 1000may be performed by a BS, such as BS 304 of FIG. 3B.

At 1010, BS 304 (e.g., network interface(s) 380, processing system 384,measurement module 388, etc.) obtains at least one neural networkfunction configured to facilitate a UE to derive a likelihood of atleast one set of positioning measurement features being present at acandidate set of positioning estimates for the UE, the at least oneneural network function being generated dynamically based onmachine-learning associated with one or more historical measurementprocedures. In some designs, the at least one neural network function isgenerated at BS 304. In other designs, the at least one neural networkfunction may be generated at another network entity, such as networkentity 306 (e.g., LMF) or an external server. For example, the one ormore historical measurement procedures may be filtered based on one ormore criteria (e.g., location, gNB, carrier, etc.) and input as trainingdata into a machine-learning algorithm which outputs a series ofoffsets, algorithms and/or processing rules referred to herein as a“neural network function”, which can be used to derive a likelihood of aparticular positioning measurement feature being present at a particularcandidate location (or region). In some designs, the one or morehistorical measurement procedures can be associated with different UEs(e.g., crowd-sourcing), and UE model type or operational conditions canalso be used to filter the training data being fed to themachine-learning algorithm that generates the neural networkfunction(s).

At 1020, BS 304 (e.g., transmitter 354, transmitter 364, etc.) transmitsthe at least one neural network function to the UE.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, in some designs, the at least one neuralnetwork function may comprise at least one UE-feature processing neuralnetwork function. The UE-feature processing neural network function isused to process positioning measurement features that are based upon aset of positioning measurements measured at the UE (e.g., PRSmeasurements, etc.). In some designs, the UE-feature processing neuralnetwork function may receive one or more UE-side positioning measurementfeatures, and the UE-feature processing neural network function mayoutput likelihoods of the one or more UE-side positioning measurementfeatures being present at one or more candidate positioning estimatesfor the UE. The outputted (or derived) likelihoods can then be factoredinto the positioning estimate for the UE (e.g., low-likelihoodpositioning estimates are excluded or weighted less heavily,high-likelihood positioning estimates are weighted more heavily, etc.).In some designs, inputs to the UE-feature processing neural networkfunction may comprise:

-   -   a clock drift at the UE,    -   a hardware group delay at the UE,    -   a model of UE (e.g., some UE models may have certain        characteristics that can skew the positioning measurements, in        which case the UE-feature processing neural network function(s)        can be configured to offset this skew), or    -   channel estimate information, such as a PDP (e.g., measured on        one antenna or beam or across multiple antennas or beams, in        case of multiple antennas or beams the different PDPs can be        used to jointly estimate a time and angle measurement such as        AoA measurement or AoD measurement), or    -   any combination thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, in some designs, the candidate set ofpositioning estimates for the UE may correspond to a configured orpre-defined candidate region. In one simple example, the configured orpre-defined candidate region may correspond to a coverage areaassociated with a serving cell, or a coverage area associated with across-section of coverage areas of two or more cells in-range of the UE,etc. In some designs, the candidate set of positioning estimates isimplicitly indicated to the UE in association with the at least oneneural network function (e.g., the UE may comprise a table of coverageareas associated with various BSs or cells, and may use detectedBSs/cells to filter the candidate region). In other designs, thecandidate set of positioning estimates is explicitly indicated to the UEin association with the at least one neural network function (e.g., viaRRC signaling, etc.)

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, in some designs, the at least one neuralnetwork function may comprise at least one BS-feature processing neuralnetwork function. The BS-feature processing neural network function isused to process positioning measurement features that are based upon aset of positioning measurements measured at the network-side, such asthe serving BS or non-serving BS(s) of the UE (e.g., SRS-P measurements,etc.). In some designs, the BS-feature processing neural networkfunction may receive one or more BS-side positioning measurementfeatures, and the BS-feature processing neural network function mayoutput likelihoods of the one or more BS-side positioning measurementfeatures being present at one or more candidate positioning estimatesfor the UE. The outputted (or derived) likelihoods can then be factoredinto the positioning estimate for the UE (e.g., low-likelihoodpositioning estimates are excluded or weighted less heavily,high-likelihood positioning estimates are weighted more heavily, etc.).In some designs, inputs to the B S-feature processing neural networkfunction may comprise:

-   -   a location of at least one BS,    -   a downtilt of the at least one BS,    -   a transmit power of the at least one BS,    -   a clock synchronization error between two or more BSs,    -   a clock drift of the at least one BS,    -   a hardware group delay of the at least one BS,    -   a base station almanac (BSA) error associated with the at least        one BS,    -   channel estimate information, such as a PDP (e.g., measured on        one antenna or beam or across multiple antennas or beams, in        case of multiple antennas or beams the different PDPs can be        used to jointly estimate a time and angle measurement such as        AoA measurement or AoD measurement), or    -   any combination thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, in some designs, the at least one neuralnetwork function may comprise at least one UE-feature processing neuralnetwork function and at least one BS-feature processing neural networkfunction. In this case, the positioning measurement data may comprise afirst set of positioning measurement features based on a first set ofpositioning measurements at one or more BSs, and a second set ofpositioning measurement features based on a second set of positioningmeasurements at the UE. Likelihoods of the first and second sets ofpositioning measurement features being present at the candidate set ofpositioning estimates for the UE based at least in part upon theUE-feature processing neural network function and the BS-featureprocessing neural network function can then be derived, whereby thepositioning estimate for the UE is based in part upon the derivedlikelihoods.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, in some designs, the UE-feature or BS-featureprocessing neural network function(s) may be specific to:

-   -   a particular base station (BS) or group of BSs (e.g., based on        cell ID(s), etc.),    -   a carrier,    -   a location region,    -   a positioning measurement type or group of positioning        measurement types,    -   a beam or group of beams, or    -   any combination thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, in some designs, an LMF may send a network someinputs to the neural network function(s) which are then provided by thegNB to the UE based on local conditions, while other inputs to theneural network function(s) are supplied by the UE.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, in some designs, a version of a neural networkfunction may be obtained by the BS at 1010 and sent to the UE at 1020,whereby the neural network undergoes further refinement or modificationat the UE. In this case, the neural network function obtained at 910 maycorrespond to an initial version received from the BS or a version ofthe neural network function that is further refined at the UE. Forexample, an initial version of the neural network function (e.g.,comprising a set of default weights, offsets, etc. for processing ofmeasurement data into features) may be sent by the BS to the UE inconjunction with training data that is applied by the UE in accordancewith machine-learning. In some designs, the initial version of theneural network function may be configured conservatively so as not tooverride UE-specific parameters that may already be in effect. In thiscase, the training data may be used so as to accommodate theseUE-specific parameters (e.g., the training data may be used to refinethe UE-specific parameters rather than simply override such parameterswith different values).

FIG. 11 illustrates an example implementation 1100 of the processes900-1000 of FIGS. 9-10 in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, UE-side positioning measurement features Z₁ . . .Z_(m) are input to a UE-feature processing neural network function 1102and a UE-feature processing neural network function 1104, along with BSAinformation (e.g., gNB location, etc.). For example, the UE-featureprocessing neural network function 1102 and the UE-feature processingneural network function 1104 may be specific to positioning measurementfeatures for different beams, measurement types, etc. The likelihoodsf_(Z1|X) (z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x) 1106-1108 of the respectivepositioning measurement feature(s) across the candidate set ofpositioning estimates for the UE (or candidate region) are output by theUE-feature processing neural network functions 1102-1104, whereby xrepresents UE position (e.g., a candidate UE position underconsideration) and Z_(k) represents a value for a k^(th) feature. Thelikelihoods f_(Z1|{umlaut over (X)})(z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x)1106-1108 are then input to a feature fusion module 1110. The featurefusion module 1110 processes (e.g., aggregates) the likelihoods f_(Z1|X)(z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x) 1106-1108, and outputs the overalllikelihoods across all evaluated positioning measurement features at1112.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example implementation 1200 of the processes900-1000 of FIGS. 9-10 in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, UE-side positioning measurement features Z₁ . . .Z_(m) are input to a UE-feature processing neural network function 1202and a UE-feature processing neural network function 1204. In contrast tothe example implementation 1100, assume that BSA information isunavailable. In this case, a different mapping (i.e., a different set ofneural network functions) may be developed for each gNB. For example,the UE-feature processing neural network function 1202 and theUE-feature processing neural network function 1204 may be specific topositioning measurement features for different beams, measurement types,etc., related to a particular gNB. The likelihoods f_(Z1|X) (z₁|x) . . .f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x) 1206-1208 of the respective positioning measurementfeature(s) across the candidate set of positioning estimates for the UE(or candidate region) are output by the UE-feature processing neuralnetwork functions 1202-1204, whereby x represents UE position (e.g., acandidate UE position under consideration) and Z_(k) represents a valuefor a k^(th) feature. The likelihoods f_(Z1|X) (z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X)(z_(m)|x) 1206-1208 are then input to a feature fusion module 1210. Thefeature fusion module 1210 processes (e.g., aggregates) the likelihoodsf_(Z1|X) (z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x) 1206-1208, and outputs theoverall likelihoods across all evaluated positioning measurementfeatures at 1212.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example implementation 1300 of the processes900-1000 of FIGS. 9-10 in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure. In particular, the example implementation 1300 depicts ascenario where the at least one neural network functions comprise bothUE-based neural network functions and BS-based neural network functions.

Referring to FIG. 13, gNB-side measurements y₁ . . . y_(n) are input togNB-measurement processing neural network function 1302 andBS-measurement processing neural network function 1304. The neuralnetwork functions 1302 and 1304 relate to feature extraction (orprocessing) to process (or decompress) the gNB-side measurements y₁ . .. y_(n) into a set of gNB-side positioning measurement features (e.g.,values) suitable for transmission to the UE. The resultant gNB-sidepositioning measurement features may be transmitted by the gNB (or BS)as part of gNB assistance information to the UE at 1306.

The gNB-side positioning measurement features Z₁ . . . Z_(m) are inputto a BS-feature processing neural network function 1308 and a BS-featureprocessing neural network function 1310, along with BSA information(e.g., gNB location, etc.). For example, the BS-feature processingneural network function 1310 and the UE-feature processing neuralnetwork function 1312 may be specific to positioning measurementfeatures for different beams, measurement types, etc. The likelihoodsf_(Y1|X) (y₁|x) . . . f_(Yn|X) (y_(n)|x) of the respective positioningmeasurement feature(s) across the candidate set of positioning estimatesfor the UE (or candidate region) are output by the BS-feature processingneural network functions, whereby x represents UE position (e.g., acandidate UE position under consideration) and Z_(k) represents a valuefor a k^(th) feature.

UE-side positioning measurement features Z₁ . . . Z_(m) are also inputto a UE-feature processing neural network function 1314 and a UE-featureprocessing neural network function 1316, along with BSA information(e.g., gNB location, etc.). For example, the UE-feature processingneural network function 1314 and the UE-feature processing neuralnetwork function 1316 may be specific to positioning measurementfeatures for different beams, measurement types, etc. The likelihoodsf_(Z1|X) (z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x) of the respective positioningmeasurement feature(s) across the candidate set of positioning estimatesfor the UE (or candidate region) are output by the UE-feature processingneural network functions 1314-1316, whereby x represents UE position(e.g., a candidate UE position under consideration) and Z_(k) representsa value for a k^(th) feature.

The likelihoods f_(Z1|X) (z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x) and f_(Y1|X)(y₁|x) . . . f_(Yn|X) (y_(n)|x) are then input to a feature fusionmodule 1318. The feature fusion module 1318 processes (e.g., aggregates)the likelihoods f_(Z1|X) (z₁|x) . . . f_(Zm|X) (z_(m)|x) and f_(Y1|X)(y₁|x) . . . f_(Yn|X) (y_(n)|x), and outputs the overall likelihoodsacross all evaluated positioning measurement features at 1320.

While the aspects described above with respect to FIGS. 9-13 relategenerally to distribution and/or execution of neural network function(s)in association with positioning estimation procedures of a UE, neuralnetwork function(s) may be tailored for particular operationalconditions. Further aspects of the disclosure are directed to aselective triggering of particular neural network function(s) based onat least one triggering criterion. Such aspects provide varioustechnical advantages, such as more accurate UE positioning estimates,quicker UE positioning estimates (e.g., which may result in powersavings at the UE), and so on.

FIG. 14 illustrates another exemplary process 1400 of wirelesscommunication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, theprocess 1400 may be performed by a UE, such as UE 302 of FIG. 3A. In anexample, the process 1400 may correspond to one example implementationof the process 900 of FIG. 9 with the addition of neural networkfunction selectivity.

At 1410, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, memory 340, sensors344, etc.) obtains information associated with a set of triggeringcriteria for a set of neural network functions, the set of neuralnetwork functions configured to facilitate positioning measurementfeature processing at the UE, the set of neural network functions beinggenerated dynamically based on machine-learning associated with one ormore historical measurement procedures. In some designs, the obtainedinformation may comprise UE-specific information (e.g., information thatis known only to the UE or is known with more precision at the UE,information that is collected/generated at the UE, etc.). In otherdesigns, the obtained information may comprise other information, suchas base station information (e.g., BS model, BS tilt angle, etc.). In anexample, the set of triggering criteria may be associated with one ormore of:

-   -   Geographical region characteristics (e.g., a defined geo-fence,        a terrain type such as hilly or flat, etc.),    -   indoor environments,    -   outdoor environments,    -   particular base stations and/or carrier networks,    -   base station category (e.g., femto-cell, macro-cell, pico-cell,        etc.), and/or    -   UE category (e.g., device model, modem version, etc.).

For example, if a particular triggering criterion comprises a terraintype, then the information may comprise a terrain type where the UE islocated (e.g., based on sensor information from sensors 344, etc.). Inanother example, if a particular triggering criterion comprises a basestation category, then the information may comprise a base stationcategory for a serving cell of the UE (e.g., which may be obtained basedon overhead signaling from the serving cell). In another example, if aparticular triggering criterion comprises a UE category, then theinformation may comprise loading the UE category from a memory locationlocally at the UE. In yet another example, the UE may be able to detectwhether it is indoors or outdoors with more accuracy than the network,so the UE may be responsible for triggering neural network functionsspecific to indoor environments or outdoor environments. Accordingly,the information may be obtained in a variety of ways at 1410, dependingon the set of triggering criteria. In some designs, the set oftriggering criteria may be transported via a BS, and may originate froma RAN component (e.g., BS), a core network component (e.g., LMF), or anexternal server.

At 1420, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, receiver 336, sensors344, measurement module 342, etc.) obtains positioning measurement dataassociated with a location of the UE. For example, the positioningmeasurement data may comprise WWAN positioning measurement data, WLANpositioning measurement data, GNSS positioning measurement data, sensormeasurement data, etc. In some designs, the positioning measurement datamay be obtained by performing a set of positioning measurements on areference signal for positioning (e.g., PRS, etc.). In some designs, thepositioning measurement data may be received from a gNB (e.g., based onSRS-P measurements, etc.). In terms of sensor measurement data, in somedesigns, the positioning measurement data may comprise sensor datacaptured by one or more sensors, such as sensors 344 (e.g., visual dataor image data captured by a camera of UE 302, in which landmarks may beidentified in association with a particular location, etc.). In somedesigns, the positioning measurement data may include channel estimateinformation, such as a PDP (e.g., measured on one antenna or beam oracross multiple antennas or beams, in case of multiple antennas or beamsthe different PDPs can be used to jointly estimate a time and anglemeasurement such as AoA measurement or AoD measurement).

At 1430, UE 302 (e.g., processing system 332, measurement module 342,etc.) determines a positioning estimate (e.g., a WWAN position estimate,a WLAN position estimate, a GNSS position estimate, a sensor-basedposition estimate, etc.) for the UE based at least in part upon thepositioning measurement data and at least one neural network functionfrom the set of neural network functions that is triggered by at leastone triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria. In somedesigns, at 1430, UE 302 may directly feed a channel estimate into theneural network function(s) as an input. In other designs, UE 302 mayfirst extract some features such as time-of-arrival, reference signaltime-difference, angle of departure, timing and magnitude of apre-defined number of peaks in the channel estimate, etc. and feeds suchfeatures to the neural network function(s). In some designs, the neuralnetwork function(s) may output a likelihood of particular feature(s)being present at particular candidate location(s), in which case apost-processing function of combining the likelihood(s) across allmeasurements (or features) can be computed into a combined likelihoodfunction, as above with respect to FIGS. 11-13.

Referring to FIG. 14, in some designs, the obtained information maycomprise “UE-specific” information. For example, if the UE receives theneural network function(s) from a base station, the base station mayalready have knowledge of its own BS-specific information (e.g., BSmodel, tilt angle, etc.), and would not need the UE report its ownBS-specific information back to itself. In other designs, if the UEreceives the neural network function(s) from an external server, theexternal server may not have specific knowledge related to the UE'sserving network, and could benefit from such information. In this case,the information obtained at 1410 may comprise a combination ofUE-specific and network-specific information (e.g., which can be used atthe external server to select more appropriate neural networkfunction(s) in some designs).

Referring to FIG. 14, in an example, UE 302 may receive a plurality ofneural network functions from the set of neural network functions (e.g.,associated with different triggering criteria or different combinationsof triggering criteria, although some neural network functions may sharesome or all associated triggering criteria). UE 302 may then select theat least one neural network function from among the plurality of neuralnetwork functions based on the at least one triggering criterion fromthe set of triggering criteria. In this case, as an example, UE 302 candynamically switch between neural network functions for positionestimation without direct feedback from the network (e.g., UE canpre-store and self-evaluate the obtained information toopportunistically shift between neural network functions).

Referring to FIG. 14, in another example, UE 302 may receive, from anetwork component (e.g., serving cell, LMF, etc.), a query for currentinformation associated with the UE. In some designs, the query may betriggered in response to a handoff of UE 302 to a different basestation, although the query may alternatively be triggered inalternative ways (e.g., periodically, to verify that the neural networkfunction(s) implemented by UE 302 remain optimal, etc.). The UE may thentransmit, to the network component (e.g., BS, server, etc.) in responseto the query, the obtained information. In other designs, the query canbe omitted, and UE 302 may self-report the obtained information to thenetwork entity (e.g., in an event-based manner such as after a handoffof the UE to a new BS, in response to a change in the obtainedinformation, periodically, etc.). The UE may then receive, from thenetwork component in response to the transmission of the obtainedinformation, an indication of the at least one neural network functionbased on the obtained information satisfying the at least one triggeringcriterion. In this case, the set of triggering criteria is maintained onthe network-side, and UE 302 does not expressly require knowledge of thetriggering criteria by which the neural network function(s) areselected. In some designs, the indication of the at least one neuralnetwork function may comprise the at least one neural network functionitself (e.g., the at least one neural network function is downloadedon-demand when the network determines that the UE should implement theat least one neural network function for position estimation). In otherdesigns, the indication of the at least one neural network function maybe indicated by reference (e.g., an index to a neural network functiontable that may be maintained at the UE). In this case, UE 302 maymaintain a variety of neural network functions in its own memory, andthe network may signal UE 302 with particular neural network function(s)to implement for position estimation. In other designs, the networkcomponent may update the neural network function(s) in responsive to ahandoff without first querying the UE (e.g., the network component mayalready have sufficient information to configure the neural networkfunction(s), and may update the neural network function(s) based upon ahandoff indication). In yet other designs, the triggering criteria canbe updated in response to a handoff (e.g., different base stations,RATs, etc. can be associated with different triggering criteria).

Referring to FIG. 14, in another example, the set of neural networkfunctions may be aggregated into a single neural network functionconstruct (e.g., a single application or algorithm). In this case, theobtained information is provided as a set of inputs into the singleneural network function construct, and the determination at 1430 maycomprise execution (or processing) of the single neural network functionconstruct based on the set of inputs. In this case, the set oftriggering criteria is integrated into (e.g., evaluated by) the singleneural network function construct.

Referring to FIG. 14, in another example, the set of triggering criteriamay be received at UE 302 from a network (e.g., either as an independentdownload, or via download of a trigger criteria-integrated neuralnetwork function construct as noted above). However, in other designs asnoted above, the triggering criteria can remain on the network-sidewithout being exposed to UE 302 directly. In some designs, the set oftriggering criteria may be received from a serving network (e.g., BS304, LMF, etc.) or an external server (e.g., application server, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 14, in a further example, the set of neural networkfunctions may comprise at least one UE-feature processing neural networkfunction, at least one BS-feature processing neural network function, ora combination thereof.

Referring to FIG. 14, in some designs, the set of neural networkfunctions is maintained locally at the UE before the information isobtained. For example, the UE may download the set of neural networkfunctions before the UE actually needs the set of neural networkfunctions, which increases memory usage at the UE while reducing a delayassociated with the determination at 1430. In other designs, the UE isprovisioned with the set of triggering criteria without beingprovisioned with the associated set of neural network functions. In thiscase, the set of neural functions may be retrieved in an ‘on-demand’manner based on a dynamic evaluation of the obtained information and theset of triggering criteria. For example, the UE may determine itself tobe indoors, and an indoor triggering criterion directs the UE to triggera neural network function optimized for indoor environments. The UE maythen transmit a request the triggered neural network function from anexternal entity (e.g., server, core network component, RAN component,etc.), and receive the triggered neural network function. In somedesigns, multiple neural network functions may be triggered based on thesame or different neural network criteria (e.g., one neural networktriggered for indoor UEs, another neural network triggered for UEs withAndroid OS, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 14, in some designs, the set of triggering criteriamay be evaluated with respect to the obtained information by alower-layer (e.g., L1 or L2) component, rather than at an operatingsystem (OS) layer or application layer.

Additional description of neural networks and machine learning ingeneral is now provided.

Machine learning may be used to generate models that may be used tofacilitate various aspects associated with processing of data. Onespecific application of machine learning relates to generation ofmeasurement models for processing of reference signals for positioning(e.g., PRS), such as feature extraction, reporting of reference signalmeasurements (e.g., selecting which extracted features to report), andso on.

Machine learning models are generally categorized as either supervisedor unsupervised. A supervised model may further be sub-categorized aseither a regression or classification model. Supervised learninginvolves learning a function that maps an input to an output based onexample input-output pairs. For example, given a training dataset withtwo variables of age (input) and height (output), a supervised learningmodel could be generated to predict the height of a person based ontheir age. In regression models, the output is continuous. One exampleof a regression model is a linear regression, which simply attempts tofind a line that best fits the data. Extensions of linear regressioninclude multiple linear regression (e.g., finding a plane of best fit)and polynomial regression (e.g., finding a curve of best fit).

Another example of a machine learning model is a decision tree model. Ina decision tree model, a tree structure is defined with a plurality ofnodes. Decisions are used to move from a root node at the top of thedecision tree to a leaf node at the bottom of the decision tree (i.e., anode with no further child nodes). Generally, a higher number of nodesin the decision tree model is correlated with higher decision accuracy.

Another example of a machine learning model is a decision forest. Randomforests are an ensemble learning technique that builds off of decisiontrees. Random forests involve creating multiple decision trees usingbootstrapped datasets of the original data and randomly selecting asubset of variables at each step of the decision tree. The model thenselects the mode of all of the predictions of each decision tree. Byrelying on a “majority wins” model, the risk of error from an individualtree is reduced.

Another example of a machine learning model is a neural network (NN). Aneural network is essentially a network of mathematical equations.Neural networks accept one or more input variables, and by going througha network of equations, result in one or more output variables. Putanother way, a neural network takes in a vector of inputs and returns avector of outputs.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example neural network 1500, according to aspectsof the disclosure. The neural network 1500 includes an input layer ‘i’that receives ‘n’ (one or more) inputs (illustrated as “Input 1,” “Input2,” and “Input n”), one or more hidden layers (illustrated as hiddenlayers ‘h1,’ ‘h2,’ and ‘h3’) for processing the inputs from the inputlayer, and an output layer ‘o’ that provides ‘m’ (one or more) outputs(labeled “Output 1” and “Output m”). The number of inputs ‘n,’ hiddenlayers ‘h,’ and outputs ‘m’ may be the same or different. In somedesigns, the hidden layers ‘h’ may include linear function(s) and/oractivation function(s) that the nodes (illustrated as circles) of eachsuccessive hidden layer process from the nodes of the previous hiddenlayer.

In classification models, the output is discrete. One example of aclassification model is logistic regression. Logistic regression issimilar to linear regression but is used to model the probability of afinite number of outcomes, typically two. In essence, a logisticequation is created in such a way that the output values can only bebetween ‘0’ and ‘1.’ Another example of a classification model is asupport vector machine. For example, for two classes of data, a supportvector machine will find a hyperplane or a boundary between the twoclasses of data that maximizes the margin between the two classes. Thereare many planes that can separate the two classes, but only one planecan maximize the margin or distance between the classes. Another exampleof a classification model is Naïve Bayes, which is based on BayesTheorem. Other examples of classification models include decision tree,random forest, and neural network, similar to the examples describedabove except that the output is discrete rather than continuous.

Unlike supervised learning, unsupervised learning is used to drawinferences and find patterns from input data without references tolabeled outcomes. Two examples of unsupervised learning models includeclustering and dimensionality reduction.

Clustering is an unsupervised technique that involves the grouping, orclustering, of data points. Clustering is frequently used for customersegmentation, fraud detection, and document classification. Commonclustering techniques include k-means clustering, hierarchicalclustering, mean shift clustering, and density-based clustering.Dimensionality reduction is the process of reducing the number of randomvariables under consideration by obtaining a set of principal variables.In simpler terms, dimensionality reduction is the process of reducingthe dimension of a feature set (in even simpler terms, reducing thenumber of features). Most dimensionality reduction techniques can becategorized as either feature elimination or feature extraction. Oneexample of dimensionality reduction is called principal componentanalysis (PCA). In the simplest sense, PCA involves project higherdimensional data (e.g., three dimensions) to a smaller space (e.g., twodimensions). This results in a lower dimension of data (e.g., twodimensions instead of three dimensions) while keeping all originalvariables in the model.

Regardless of which machine learning model is used, at a high-level, amachine learning module (e.g., implemented by a processing system, suchas processors 332, 384, or 394) may be configured to iteratively analyzetraining input data (e.g., measurements of reference signals to/fromvarious target UEs) and to associate this training input data with anoutput data set (e.g., a set of possible or likely candidate locationsof the various target UEs), thereby enabling later determination of thesame output data set when presented with similar input data (e.g., fromother target UEs at the same or similar location).

In the detailed description above it can be seen that different featuresare grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should notbe understood as an intention that the example clauses have morefeatures than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, thevarious aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features ofan individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clausesshould hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, whereineach clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although eachdependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination withone of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are notlimited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that otherexample clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clauseaspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause orindependent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependentand independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expresslyinclude these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can bereadily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g.,contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulatorand a conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of aclause can be included in any other independent clause, even if theclause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

Clause 1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising:obtaining information associated with a set of triggering criteria for aset of neural network functions, the set of neural network functionsconfigured to facilitate positioning measurement feature processing atthe UE, the set of neural network functions being generated dynamicallybased on machine-learning associated with one or more historicalmeasurement procedures; obtaining positioning measurement dataassociated with a location of the UE; and determining a positioningestimate for the UE based at least in part upon the positioningmeasurement data and at least one neural network function from the setof neural network functions that is triggered by at least one triggeringcriterion from the set of triggering criteria.

Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the set of triggering criteriais received at the UE from a serving network or an external server.

Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, further comprising:receiving a plurality of neural network functions from the set of neuralnetwork functions; and selecting the at least one neural networkfunction from among the plurality of neural network functions based onthe at least one triggering criterion from the set of triggeringcriteria.

Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, further comprising:receiving, from a network component, a query for current informationassociated with the UE; transmitting, to the network component inresponse to the query, the obtained information; and receiving, from thenetwork component in response to the transmission of the obtainedinformation, an indication of the at least one neural network functionbased on the obtained information satisfying the at least one triggeringcriterion.

Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the indication comprises theat least one neural network function or a reference to the at least oneneural network function.

Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 4 to 5, wherein the query isreceived at the UE responsive to a handoff of the UE, or wherein theindication is received at the UE responsive to the handoff of the UE, ora combination thereof.

Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the set of neuralnetwork functions is aggregated into a single neural network functionconstruct.

Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the obtained information isprovided as a set of inputs into the single neural network functionconstruct, and wherein the determining comprises execution of the singleneural network function construct based on the set of inputs.

Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the at least oneneural network function comprises a UE-feature processing neural networkfunction, at least one base station (BS)-feature processing neuralnetwork function, or a combination thereof.

Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the obtainedinformation comprises one or more of geographic region characteristicsof the UE, whether the UE is located in an indoor or outdoorenvironment, a serving base station or carrier network of the UE, a UEcategory, a base station category, or any combination thereof.

Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the set oftriggering criteria is associated with one or more of geographic regioncharacteristics, an indoor or outdoor UE status, a base station orcarrier network, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

Clause 12. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: obtain information associated with a set of triggeringcriteria for a set of neural network functions, the set of neuralnetwork functions configured to facilitate positioning measurementfeature processing at the UE, the set of neural network functions beinggenerated dynamically based on machine-learning associated with one ormore historical measurement procedures; obtain positioning measurementdata associated with a location of the UE; and determine a positioningestimate for the UE based at least in part upon the positioningmeasurement data and at least one neural network function from the setof neural network functions that is triggered by at least one triggeringcriterion from the set of triggering criteria.

Clause 13. The UE of clause 12, wherein the set of triggering criteriais received at the UE from a serving network or an external server.

Clause 14. The UE of any of clauses 12 to 13, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: receive, via the at least onetransceiver, a plurality of neural network functions from the set ofneural network functions; and select the at least one neural networkfunction from among the plurality of neural network functions based onthe at least one triggering criterion from the set of triggeringcriteria.

Clause 15. The UE of any of clauses 12 to 14, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: receive, via the at least onetransceiver, from a network component, a query for current informationassociated with the UE; transmit, via the at least one transceiver, tothe network component in response to the query, the obtainedinformation; and receive, via the at least one transceiver, from thenetwork component in response to the transmission of the obtainedinformation, an indication of the at least one neural network functionbased on the obtained information satisfying the at least one triggeringcriterion.

Clause 16. The UE of clause 15, wherein the indication comprises the atleast one neural network function or a reference to the at least oneneural network function.

Clause 17. The UE of any of clauses 15 to 16, wherein the query isreceived at the UE responsive to a handoff of the UE, or wherein theindication is received at the UE responsive to the handoff of the UE, ora combination thereof.

Clause 18. The UE of any of clauses 12 to 17, wherein the set of neuralnetwork functions is aggregated into a single neural network functionconstruct.

Clause 19. The UE of clause 18, wherein the obtained information isprovided as a set of inputs into the single neural network functionconstruct, and wherein the determining comprises execution of the singleneural network function construct based on the set of inputs.

Clause 20. The UE of any of clauses 12 to 19, wherein the at least oneneural network function comprises a UE-feature processing neural networkfunction, at least one base station (BS)-feature processing neuralnetwork function, or a combination thereof.

Clause 21. The UE of any of clauses 12 to 20, wherein the obtainedinformation comprises one or more of geographic region characteristicsof the UE, whether the UE is located in an indoor or outdoorenvironment, a serving base station or carrier network of the UE, a UEcategory, a base station category, or any combination thereof.

Clause 22. The UE of any of clauses 12 to 21, wherein the set oftriggering criteria is associated with one or more of geographic regioncharacteristics, an indoor or outdoor UE status, a base station orcarrier network, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

Clause 23. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for obtaininginformation associated with a set of triggering criteria for a set ofneural network functions, the set of neural network functions configuredto facilitate positioning measurement feature processing at the UE, theset of neural network functions being generated dynamically based onmachine-learning associated with one or more historical measurementprocedures; means for obtaining positioning measurement data associatedwith a location of the UE; and means for determining a positioningestimate for the UE based at least in part upon the positioningmeasurement data and at least one neural network function from the setof neural network functions that is triggered by at least one triggeringcriterion from the set of triggering criteria.

Clause 24. The UE of clause 23, wherein the set of triggering criteriais received at the UE from a serving network or an external server.

Clause 25. The UE of any of clauses 23 to 24, further comprising: meansfor receiving a plurality of neural network functions from the set ofneural network functions; and means for selecting the at least oneneural network function from among the plurality of neural networkfunctions based on the at least one triggering criterion from the set oftriggering criteria.

Clause 26. The UE of any of clauses 23 to 25, further comprising: meansfor receiving, from a network component, a query for current informationassociated with the UE; means for transmitting, to the network componentin response to the query, the obtained information; and means forreceiving, from the network component in response to the transmission ofthe obtained information, an indication of the at least one neuralnetwork function based on the obtained information satisfying the atleast one triggering criterion.

Clause 27. The UE of clause 26, wherein the indication comprises the atleast one neural network function or a reference to the at least oneneural network function.

Clause 28. The UE of any of clauses 26 to 27, wherein the query isreceived at the UE responsive to a handoff of the UE, or wherein theindication is received at the UE responsive to the handoff of the UE, ora combination thereof.

Clause 29. The UE of any of clauses 23 to 28, wherein the set of neuralnetwork functions is aggregated into a single neural network functionconstruct.

Clause 30. The UE of clause 29, wherein the obtained information isprovided as a set of inputs into the single neural network functionconstruct, and wherein the determining comprises execution of the singleneural network function construct based on the set of inputs.

Clause 31. The UE of any of clauses 23 to 30, wherein the at least oneneural network function comprises a UE-feature processing neural networkfunction, at least one base station (BS)-feature processing neuralnetwork function, or a combination thereof.

Clause 32. The UE of any of clauses 23 to 31, wherein the obtainedinformation comprises one or more of geographic region characteristicsof the UE, whether the UE is located in an indoor or outdoorenvironment, a serving base station or carrier network of the UE, a UEcategory, a base station category, or any combination thereof.

Clause 33. The UE of any of clauses 23 to 32, wherein the set oftriggering criteria is associated with one or more of geographic regioncharacteristics, an indoor or outdoor UE status, a base station orcarrier network, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

Clause 34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment(UE), cause the UE to: obtain information associated with a set oftriggering criteria for a set of neural network functions, the set ofneural network functions configured to facilitate positioningmeasurement feature processing at the UE, the set of neural networkfunctions being generated dynamically based on machine-learningassociated with one or more historical measurement procedures; obtainpositioning measurement data associated with a location of the UE; anddetermine a positioning estimate for the UE based at least in part uponthe positioning measurement data and at least one neural networkfunction from the set of neural network functions that is triggered byat least one triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.

Clause 35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 34,wherein the set of triggering criteria is received at the UE from aserving network or an external server.

Clause 36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses34 to 35, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to:receive a plurality of neural network functions from the set of neuralnetwork functions; and select the at least one neural network functionfrom among the plurality of neural network functions based on the atleast one triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.

Clause 37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses34 to 36, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to:receive, from a network component, a query for current informationassociated with the UE; transmit, to the network component in responseto the query, the obtained information; and receive, from the networkcomponent in response to the transmission of the obtained information,an indication of the at least one neural network function based on theobtained information satisfying the at least one triggering criterion.

Clause 38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 37,wherein the indication comprises the at least one neural networkfunction or a reference to the at least one neural network function.

Clause 39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses37 to 38, wherein the query is received at the UE responsive to ahandoff of the UE, or wherein the indication is received at the UEresponsive to the handoff of the UE, or a combination thereof.

Clause 40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses34 to 39, wherein the set of neural network functions is aggregated intoa single neural network function construct.

Clause 41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 40,wherein the obtained information is provided as a set of inputs into thesingle neural network function construct, and wherein the determiningcomprises execution of the single neural network function constructbased on the set of inputs.

Clause 42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses34 to 41, wherein the at least one neural network function comprises aUE-feature processing neural network function, at least one base station(BS)-feature processing neural network function, or a combinationthereof.

Clause 43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses34 to 42, wherein the obtained information comprises one or more ofgeographic region characteristics of the UE, whether the UE is locatedin an indoor or outdoor environment, a serving base station or carriernetwork of the UE, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.

Clause 44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses34 to 43, wherein the set of triggering criteria is associated with oneor more of geographic region characteristics, an indoor or outdoor UEstatus, a base station or carrier network, a UE category, a base stationcategory, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor maybe a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices,e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection withthe aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flashmemory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, aremovable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known inthe art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor suchthat the processor can read information from, and write information to,the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may beintegral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium mayreside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Inthe alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside asdiscrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed bya computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of thedisclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosureas defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actionsof the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosuredescribed herein need not be performed in any particular order.Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described orclaimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation tothe singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE),comprising: obtaining information associated with a set of triggeringcriteria for a set of neural network functions, the set of neuralnetwork functions configured to facilitate positioning measurementfeature processing at the UE, the set of neural network functions beinggenerated dynamically based on machine-learning associated with one ormore historical measurement procedures; obtaining positioningmeasurement data associated with a location of the UE; and determining apositioning estimate for the UE based at least in part upon thepositioning measurement data and at least one neural network functionfrom the set of neural network functions that is triggered by at leastone triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the set of triggering criteria is received atthe UE from a serving network or an external server.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a plurality of neural networkfunctions from the set of neural network functions; and selecting the atleast one neural network function from among the plurality of neuralnetwork functions based on the at least one triggering criterion fromthe set of triggering criteria.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, from a network component, a query for currentinformation associated with the UE; transmitting, to the networkcomponent in response to the query, the obtained information; andreceiving, from the network component in response to the transmission ofthe obtained information, an indication of the at least one neuralnetwork function based on the obtained information satisfying the atleast one triggering criterion.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theindication comprises the at least one neural network function or areference to the at least one neural network function.
 6. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the query is received at the UE responsive to a handoffof the UE, or wherein the indication is received at the UE responsive tothe handoff of the UE, or a combination thereof.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the set of neural network functions is aggregated into asingle neural network function construct.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the obtained information is provided as a set of inputs into thesingle neural network function construct, and wherein the determiningcomprises execution of the single neural network function constructbased on the set of inputs.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the atleast one neural network function comprises a UE-feature processingneural network function, at least one base station (BS)-featureprocessing neural network function, or a combination thereof.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the obtained information comprises one ormore of geographic region characteristics of the UE, whether the UE islocated in an indoor or outdoor environment, a serving base station orcarrier network of the UE, a UE category, a base station category, orany combination thereof.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the set oftriggering criteria is associated with one or more of geographic regioncharacteristics, an indoor or outdoor UE status, a base station orcarrier network, a UE category, a base station category, or anycombination thereof.
 12. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; atleast one transceiver; and at least one processor communicativelycoupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least oneprocessor configured to: obtain information associated with a set oftriggering criteria for a set of neural network functions, the set ofneural network functions configured to facilitate positioningmeasurement feature processing at the UE, the set of neural networkfunctions being generated dynamically based on machine-learningassociated with one or more historical measurement procedures; obtainpositioning measurement data associated with a location of the UE; anddetermine a positioning estimate for the UE based at least in part uponthe positioning measurement data and at least one neural networkfunction from the set of neural network functions that is triggered byat least one triggering criterion from the set of triggering criteria.13. The UE of claim 12, wherein the set of triggering criteria isreceived at the UE from a serving network or an external server.
 14. TheUE of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configuredto: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a plurality of neuralnetwork functions from the set of neural network functions; and selectthe at least one neural network function from among the plurality ofneural network functions based on the at least one triggering criterionfrom the set of triggering criteria.
 15. The UE of claim 12, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the atleast one transceiver, from a network component, a query for currentinformation associated with the UE; transmit, via the at least onetransceiver, to the network component in response to the query, theobtained information; and receive, via the at least one transceiver,from the network component in response to the transmission of theobtained information, an indication of the at least one neural networkfunction based on the obtained information satisfying the at least onetriggering criterion.
 16. The UE of claim 15, wherein the indicationcomprises the at least one neural network function or a reference to theat least one neural network function.
 17. The UE of claim 15, whereinthe query is received at the UE responsive to a handoff of the UE, orwherein the indication is received at the UE responsive to the handoffof the UE, or a combination thereof.
 18. The UE of claim 12, wherein theset of neural network functions is aggregated into a single neuralnetwork function construct.
 19. The UE of claim 18, wherein the obtainedinformation is provided as a set of inputs into the single neuralnetwork function construct, and wherein the determining comprisesexecution of the single neural network function construct based on theset of inputs.
 20. The UE of claim 12, wherein the at least one neuralnetwork function comprises a UE-feature processing neural networkfunction, at least one base station (BS)-feature processing neuralnetwork function, or a combination thereof.
 21. The UE of claim 12,wherein the obtained information comprises one or more of geographicregion characteristics of the UE, whether the UE is located in an indooror outdoor environment, a serving base station or carrier network of theUE, a UE category, a base station category, or any combination thereof.22. The UE of claim 12, wherein the set of triggering criteria isassociated with one or more of geographic region characteristics, anindoor or outdoor UE status, a base station or carrier network, a UEcategory, a base station category, or any combination thereof.
 23. Auser equipment (UE), comprising: means for obtaining informationassociated with a set of triggering criteria for a set of neural networkfunctions, the set of neural network functions configured to facilitatepositioning measurement feature processing at the UE, the set of neuralnetwork functions being generated dynamically based on machine-learningassociated with one or more historical measurement procedures; means forobtaining positioning measurement data associated with a location of theUE; and means for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based atleast in part upon the positioning measurement data and at least oneneural network function from the set of neural network functions that istriggered by at least one triggering criterion from the set oftriggering criteria.
 24. The UE of claim 23, wherein the set oftriggering criteria is received at the UE from a serving network or anexternal server.
 25. The UE of claim 23, further comprising: means forreceiving a plurality of neural network functions from the set of neuralnetwork functions; and means for selecting the at least one neuralnetwork function from among the plurality of neural network functionsbased on the at least one triggering criterion from the set oftriggering criteria.
 26. The UE of claim 23, further comprising: meansfor receiving, from a network component, a query for current informationassociated with the UE; means for transmitting, to the network componentin response to the query, the obtained information; and means forreceiving, from the network component in response to the transmission ofthe obtained information, an indication of the at least one neuralnetwork function based on the obtained information satisfying the atleast one triggering criterion.
 27. The UE of claim 26, wherein theindication comprises the at least one neural network function or areference to the at least one neural network function.
 28. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UEto: obtain information associated with a set of triggering criteria fora set of neural network functions, the set of neural network functionsconfigured to facilitate positioning measurement feature processing atthe UE, the set of neural network functions being generated dynamicallybased on machine-learning associated with one or more historicalmeasurement procedures; obtain positioning measurement data associatedwith a location of the UE; and determine a positioning estimate for theUE based at least in part upon the positioning measurement data and atleast one neural network function from the set of neural networkfunctions that is triggered by at least one triggering criterion fromthe set of triggering criteria.
 29. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 28, wherein the one or more instructions further causethe UE to: receive, from a network component, a query for currentinformation associated with the UE; transmit, to the network componentin response to the query, the obtained information; and receive, fromthe network component in response to the transmission of the obtainedinformation, an indication of the at least one neural network functionbased on the obtained information satisfying the at least one triggeringcriterion.
 30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 29,wherein the query is received at the UE responsive to a handoff of theUE, or wherein the indication is received at the UE responsive to thehandoff of the UE, or a combination thereof.